Everton 3-1 Burnley: heroes, villains and player ratings as Andros Townsend steals the show
The Toffees moved back joint-top of the Premier League with Liverpool, Manchester United and Chelsea.
Everton’s brilliant start to the 2021-22 Premier League season continued as they came from behind in style to defeat Burnley 3-1 on Monday night.
Ben Mee gave the Clarets the lead in the 53rd minute at Goodison Park but that was cancelled out by Michael Keane’s header on the hour mark.
Andros Townsend then put the Toffees in front with a sublime long-range effort on 66 minutes before Demarai Gray rounded off the win two minutes later.
The victory moves Rafa Benitez’s side back to joint-top of the table on 10 points after four games.
The heroes
- Andros Townsend: the winger had a subdued first half but sparked into life in the second period. He put Keane’s equaliser on a plate before firing a goal-of-season contender of a strike only moments later.
- Michael Keane: the centre-back came in for some flak in the opening two games of the season. However, he helped repel a robust Burnley attack and headed the equaliser with aplomb.
-Abdoulaye Doucoure: two more assists for the all-action midfielder. The second was a defence-splitting pass to set Demarai Gray on his way. Doucoure is thriving under Benitez’s tutelage.
The villains
- Yerry Mina: the Everton defender was caught napping for Burnley’s opener. Rather than getting out like the rest of his team-mates, he instead played three maroon shirts onside and allowed Mee to nod beyond Jordan Pickford.
- Chris Wood: should have opened the scoring for the visitors in the first half when his run was spotted by Dwight McNeil but he failed to get any purchase on his header.
- Martin Atkinson: the referee made some bizarre decisions throughout the clash, including the booking of Townsend for virtually nothing.
Player ratings
Everton (3-4-3): Pickford 6, Coleman 6, Keane 7, Mina 5, Godfrey 6 (Gomez 61; 8), Digne 6, Allan 8, Doucoure 8, Townsend 8, Gray 7 (Iwobi 88), Richarlison 6 (Rondon 81).
Burnley (4-4-2): Pope 5, Lowton 5, Tarkowski 5, Mee 6, Taylor 5, Gudmundsson 6 (Lennon 71; 5), Brownhill 4, Westwood 4, McNeil 6, Wood 4 (Rodriguez 86), Barnes 5 (Vydra 71; 5).
What’s next
Everton are back in action when they make the trip to Aston Villa on Saturday (17.30 BST).