Alan Shearer and Ian Wright agree on key reason Everton beat Leeds United to avoid relegation
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The Toffees went into their home game with Bournemouth knowing a win would secure the Premier League status and condemn relegation rivals Leeds United and Leicester City to life in the Championship.
With Goodison Park buzzing with a curious mix of excitement and nerves, the Toffees suffered a number of nervy moments but always looked to more likely of the two sides to edge themselves in front.
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Hide AdThe crucial moment came just before the hour-mark as Abdoulaye Doucoure continued his impressive recent form with a stunning effort from around 20 yards that left Cherries goalkeeper Mark Travers to send a deafening roar around the Toffees famous old home.
Despite facing a number of crosses into their area as the closing stages were reached, Jordan Pickford’s only real save came when he parried a Matias Vina strike to safety in the fourth of ten minutes of injury-time. That was enough for the England goalkeeper to preserve his clean sheet and ensure the Toffees will spend another season in the Premier League.
Shearer hailed Dyche for working with the defensive setup he inherited from Frank Lampard and believes the former Burnley boss has performed well to keep the club in the Premier League.
Speaking on Match of the Day on Sunday night, the former Newcastle United and England striker said: “He knows his way around, he knows how to set up and organise. In forward positions, they were really poor, only 34 goals, didn’t have Calvert-Lewin for lots of the season.
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Hide Ad“But what he had to work with defensively and a capable goalkeeper, he made them work hard, he knew the attitude was there and when you have that you’ve got a chance.”
Shearer’s former England team-mate Wright also praised Dyche for the role he has done since his appointment at Goodison Park but he insisted change was needed elsewhere in the club before they can progress.
He said: “The amount of money they’ve spent, they’ve not spent it wisely and the board, like I mentioned, haven’t been there since January. That’s something that’s down to them, what they accused the fans of. But for me, the management side of things needs to change in terms of upstairs. It needs a total reboot. Someone like Sean Dyche, he’s come in and shown he’s capable, but I think the relationship between the owners and the fans has to be repaired before they do anything because at the moment all they have left is those fans.”
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