Sunday 4 March 2018 10:17, UK
Burnley ended a 12-game winless streak with a 2-1 comeback victory over 10-man Everton at Turf Moor on Saturday.
Second-half goals from Ashley Barnes (56) and substitute Chris Wood (80) brought the alarming run to an end in Sean Dyche's 250th game in charge, as the Clarets reached the coveted 40-point mark, five adrift of sixth-placed Arsenal.
Cenk Tosun had headed Everton in front with his first goal for the club on 20 minutes, but Sam Allardyce's men were made to pay for a poor defensive performance, compounded by Ashley Williams' late red card, as they slipped to a fifth consecutive away defeat.
Allardyce stressed the importance of scoring first and Everton nearly delivered on 15 minutes, despite Burnley's encouraging start. Gylfi Sigurdsson squared for Theo Walcott at the end of a slaloming run, but the forward, distracted by team-mate Tom Davies, fired over.
But Allardyce's wish was soon fulfilled as Walcott's cross from the right was flicked into the path of Tosun by Seamus Coleman, and the January signing powered a header beyond Nick Pope.
Everton, buoyed by going in front, tried to double their lead but Pope denied Tosun a quick-fire double and Walcott from converting the Turk's cross on 28 minutes.
Burnley rallied, though, and thought they had drawn themselves level when a whipped Matt Lowton cross found Barnes on the half-hour, but a stunning point-blank save from Jordan Pickford preserved the Toffees' lead until the interval.
The Clarets, bolstered by the addition of Chris Wood, continued to lay siege to the Everton goal after the break.
Another fine Pickford save prevented Aaron Lennon from scoring against his old club on 50 minutes, moments before the England goalkeeper tipped a Ben Mee header onto the bar.
But the pressure finally told as Lowton's long ball released Barnes in behind the doing Everton defence, and the striker finally broke Pickford's resolve with a fierce, near-post drive.
Oumar Niasse blazed an acrobatic volley over eight minutes after coming off the bench before Sigurdsson fired a great chance wide two minutes later. But Burnley had the final word as Wood rose high to head Johann Berg Gudmundsson's corner home with 10 minutes remaining, Everton's hopes of a comeback extinguished when William saw red for striking Barnes.
Sean Dyche: "Now we're on 40 points, it took us the whole of last season to get that and now we've got nine to go. I think it's a real marker of how far we've come in a relatively short space of time.
"We're constantly looking for ways to move the club and the team forward season-on-season and there are good signs of that. We want to go again of course and go beyond 40 but it is a fine mark for a club like us at this stage of the season."
Sam Allardyce: "We missed too many chances, I think that's the bottom line. After that, I think two very simple goals were gifted to Burnley.
"I think it was such a big game today for us to win to go level with Burnley. With the fantastic season they've had, for us to get level with them today had we won with such a bad season that we've had, it wouldn't have looked quite so bad but we only have ourselves to blame for today's defeat."
Jamie Redknapp: "They are going to find some points and they will stay up, but looking forward to next season, Evertonians want a little bit of optimism but at the moment, there's not a lot to be excited about. When I look at them, I don't see a team.
"I played against Everton for many years with really good players. They had a philosophy of how they wanted to play, they were aggressive, got the ball into wide areas but I look at them now and go 'what are they?' There's no real talent that's going to get me on the edge of my seat when I watch Everton."
It looked as though Barnes would have to settle for an afternoon of frustration as his exploits in the first half were met by the brilliance of Jordan Pickford in the Everton goal. But the Burnley striker plugged away and got his just rewards, inspiring a comeback with his well-taken equaliser, which saw him score in consecutive Premier League games for the first time since December 2014.
Burnley travel to the London Stadium to take on West Ham and Everton host Brighton at Goodison Park on Saturday, March 10.
