Everton’s predicament took an almighty turn for the worst as they suffered a 3-2 loss at Premier League relegation rivals Burnley.
The 17th-placed Toffees fell to a 3-2 loss at Turf Moore despite leading at one stage - as the Clarets moved up to 18th and just a point behind Frank Lampard’s side.
It looked like it was going to be a long night for Everton when they fell behind in the 12th minute.
A Burnley corner caused mayhem in the box and Nathan Collin turned in unmarked.
But the Blues would fight back and flip the game on its head.
Anthony Gordon’s tenacity saw him felled by Ashley Westwood inside the box. Richarlison stepped up to show ice-cool nerves and tuck home the penalty.
And Richarlison was to net a carbon copy spot-kick four minutes before half-time after Vitalii Mykolenko won Everton a penalty when tripped inside the box by Aaron Lennon.
There’d be another twist in the 57th minute when Jay Rodriguez got Burnley back level from close range.
And it would be Burnley who’d snatch all three points with four minutes left. Ben Godfrey made a woeful error when he failed to cut out a cross and Maxwel Cornet fully profited to send the home faithful into raptures.
As a result, Everton crashed to a sixth successive Premier League away defeat and fears of the drop have grown markedly with nine games remaining.
The heroes
- Maxwel Cornet: kept his concentration to net Burnley’s dramatic winner. Also caused Everton all sorts of problems down the left flank.
James Tarkowski: a strong performance from the Clarets centre-back.
- Richarlison: his two penalties deserved to earn Everton a point. They were high-class finishes. Finishes of someone who won’t be around if Everton go down.
The villains
- Ben Godfrey: yet another individual error cost Everton a point. Godfrey didn’t have too bad of a game overall - but his gaffe was inexcusable.
- Dominic Calvert-Lewin: another subdued display from the England international. Barely looked like scoring and was beaten far too easily in the build-up for Burnley’s second goal.
Here’s how we rated the Everton players.
It looked like it was going to be a long night for Everton when they fell behind in the 12th minute.
5. Vitalii Mykolenko - 5
Had somewhat of a nervy start and was tested by Lennon. Started to become more of outlet and showed good guile to win the second penalty. However, another who was in the back four who allowed three goals to be shipped. Photo: LINDSEY PARNABY/AFP via Getty Images
6. Alex Iwobi - 6
Completely lost Collins for Burnley’s goal. However, atoned for his error somewhat with a perfectly-weighted through ball for Mykolenko, who was then fouled for the second penalty. Yet was wasteful on the ball in decent areas. Photo: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images
7. Mason Holgate - 5
Forced to walk a disciplinary tightrope after being booked in the third minute. Did OK in the middle in the first half but tired as the game wore on. Brought off too late in the 87th minute. Photo: Justin Setterfield/Getty Images
8. Abdoulaye Doucoure - 5
Better from the newly-capped Mali international than in recent weeks. Still not enough from him, though, and struggling in a two-man midfield. Photo: Michael Steele/Getty Images