Brighton, May 9
In a match of considerable significance to both sides, Brighton’s European ambitions were dented while a determined Everton gratefully climbed out of the relegation zone – at least for the time being. They are two points clear of the bottom three places. Brighton must continue to battle for a place in the Europa League while still holding a two-game advantage over their nearest rivals also aiming for Europe.
A disappointed Brighton manager, Roberto De Zerbi said: “We showed we are not yet ready to compete to achieve the big targets. (Playing) Three games in a week is difficult if you are not used to that. But if you want to fix your targets higher, you have to improve your mentality. The greatest quality of the big teams is that they immediately forget after a win and are ready to play again straight away.
“Today we didn’t forget our victory against Manchester United last week. We didn’t turn up until the second half. If you watched the game with Manchester United, and if you watched this game, you can watch two completely different teams.”
He added: “I hope we remember this date for a long time because it can be a very important day for us if we improve in mentality. We have won against Liverpool, United and Chelsea because we showed pride, courage, energy and passion. I’m sure we will show that on Sunday at Arsenal.”
Everton took the lead before the crowd had even time to settle in their seats. Dominic Calvert-Lewin ran clear of Lewis Dank after receiving a cross from Alex Iwobi and he then passed to Abdoulaye Doucoure for an easy tap-in in the 34th second.
Doucoure doubled the lead in the 29th minute with an excellent volley from a cross by Dwight McNeil. Everton kept the pressure on and were quick to attack starting from deep inside their own half. Doucoure did well to retrieve a pass which wasn’t quite accurate from Calvert-Lewin and he in turn passed to McNeil whose low cross found the net off the foot of goalkeeper Jason Steele for an own goal ten minutes before the break.
Brighton did improve in the second half bringing on four substitutes but Everton maintained the momentum they had achieved. They extended their already comfortable lead in the 76th minute when McNeil beat Dunk and Steele to put the ball into an empty goal.
Three minutes later Brighton managed a consolation goal when Mac Allister headed in the ball which had come off the post from a shot by Kaoru Mitoma. But that was all too late and the visitors added their fifth in the sixth minute of injury time with McNeil unleashing a drive into the top corner.
Everton manager, Sean Dyche said: “We reminded everyone that there is life and quality in this team and we did it against a very good team. The feelgood factor is very important. We have to keep believing and focus on Everton and not what is around us.”
English Premier League results
On Monday:
Fulham 5 (Willian 10, 70, Vinicius 18, Cairney 44, 51) Leicester 3 (Barnes 59, 89, Maddison 81-pen)
Brighton 1 (Mac Allister 79) Everton 5 (Doucoure 1, 29, Steele 35-og, McNeil 76, 90+6)
Nottingham Forest 4 (Awoniyi 18, 21, Gibbs-White 44-pen, Danilo 73) Southampton 3 (Alcaraz 25, Lyanco 51, Ward-Prowse 90+5-pen)
On Sunday
Newcastle 0 Arsenal 2 (Odegaard 14, Schar 71-og)
West Ham 1 (Benrahma 27) Manchester United 0
On Saturday
Bournemouth 1 (Vina 21) Chelsea 3 (Gallagher 9, Badiashile 82, Felix 86)
Manchester City 2 (Gundogan 19, 27) Leeds 1 (Rodrigo 85)
Tottenham 1 (Kane 45) Crystal Palace 0
Wolves 1 (Gomes 9) Aston Villa 0
Liverpool 1 (Salah 13) Brentford 0
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