While Everton face that tricky sequence of games, Burnley’s next assignment is a trip to Norwich on Sunday. They could lose, of course, and Everton could take out their frustration on United, who are hardly a daunting prospect at the moment. But you’d much rather be in Sean Dyche’s shoes than Frank Lampard’s.
That’s it from me. Time to switch over, however reluctantly, to the last few minutes of the Champions League. Thanks for your company, your correspondence and your concern for Mary Waltz. Unless you happen to be an Evertonian, it’s been a rollicking night – everything a wet Wednesday in Burnley is cracked up to be.
Updated
Maxwel Cornet is giving an interview, helped by Jay Rodriguez. Cornet’s English is halting, but he says “I try to do my best.” He needn’t worry: his feet did the talking.
“Maxi’s been brilliant,” Rodriguez says. “A great lad.”
Updated
Everton’s next five games are tough: Man United, Leicester, Liverpool, Chelsea and Leicester again. The easiest one on paper is United, but as Lampard has pointed out, Everton have to play it at lunchtime on Saturday, whereas United will have had a week to prepare.
Everton actually played pretty well tonight, going forward – but the only end product was a pair of penalties.
Updated
The upshot is that Everton are still 17th, and Burnley sneak up to 18th. The gap, which would have been seven points if Everton had hung onto their half-time lead, is now down to one. And Burnley have the better goal difference, -17 rather than -20.
It’s been a great night for Burnley and a good one for Leeds, who remain five points clear of Everton, although they’ve played two more games than either of these two.
Updated
What a night. Burnley led, then Everton led, then Burnley led again. Nick Pope leaps into a huddle of his team mates, more of a group hug. “We fucking did it!” yells someone. They certainly did.
Full time! Burnley 3-2 Everton
It’s all over! Burnley have their fourth win of the season, surely the biggest, and Everton are sinking in the rain.
90+3 min: The man of the match, chosen by Andy Hinchcliffe, is Maxwell Cornet, just ahead of James Tarkowski.
90+2 min: Rondon gets a shot away! A volley, teed up by Calvert-Lewin. He gets a reasonable amount on it but sends it just wide.
90 min: There will be four added minutes. Lampard’s Everton don’t do draws... do they?
87 min: Lampard, in desperation, sends on Salomon Rondon for Mason Holgate. The goal was partly down to a horrible miscue from Ben Godfrey in the Everton defence, which gave the opening for the pull-back, expertly played by Vydra.
Updated
GOAL!! Burnley 3-2 Everton (Cornet 85)
Cornet’s been so good and he gets his just deserts as a pull-back finds him unmarked near the spot. He slams it home and Turf Moor, in the rain, is in heaven.
Updated
84 min: And another sub: Dwight McNeil, who never misses a match, comes on to replace Aaron Lennon, who was excellent in attack and made one mistake in defence.
82 min: Hang on, now Everton are coming back to life. Gray goes on a jinking run that ends in a shot and another solid Burnley block, by Taylor this time. The corner leads to some more pinball; again, no wizard.
78 min: Burnley are coming back into it, with Cornet taking a starring role. He follows up a good crisp cross with a shot that Pope pushes away for a corner. Collins, squirming into the box, finds the side netting. Another sub: Vydra for Weghorst.
76 min: Lawton picks up an instant yellow, much like Holgate. Richarlison floats in a tantalising cross which Calvert-Lewin can’t quite get his head on. This game is dispensing rough justice. Burnley were the better team in the first half, yet they trailed 1-2. And Everton, the better team in the second half, still have nothing to show for it.
72 min: Time for some subs. Lampard sends on Demarai Gary for Anthony Gordon; Dyche replaces Connor Roberts with Matt Lowton.
71 min: Godfrey runs straight down the middle of the pitch, unchallenged, and feeds Richarlison, who just ponders his options for long enough to allow Tarkowski to put in another fine block.
Here’s Tom Hopkins. “I take comfort in the thought that right now there’s someone in California ignoring their friends and (I’m imagining) hipster alkali lunch to check on the score at Turf Moor. God speed, Mary Waltz.”
67 min: Cornet sneaks into the box and goes down,. rather too lightly. The pace is still relentless. This game could be decided by which team tires first, or finds that one moment of precision in front of goal. We’ve had 11 shots since half-time (Burnley five, Everton six), but only two on target (one apiece).
65 min: Burnley have their first good spell since the equaliser, but it ends with some sloppiness at the back and Gordon has a golden chance – seen off by a superb block from Tarkowski. From the resulting corner, Branthwaite has a good header that flies just over the bar. Not bad for a 19-year-old.
Updated
63 min: Dominic Calvert-Lewin steps out of the shadows to send a header over the bar. Charlie Taylor, Burnley’s hero a moment ago at the other end, did well to stay close to him.
60 min: Everton are bouncing back from that blow, with Gordon finding some joy down the left and Iwobi wriggling into the box. Richarlison has another shot at a hat-trick and this time it’s an overhead kick! He lands it on target but Pope does well to make the save.
GOAL! Burnley 2-2 Everton (Rodriguez 57)
A fabulous run and cross from Charlie Taylor down the left, and Jay Rodriguez is there for the tap-in!
Updated
56 min: If Everton blow this one, it will be because of their indiscipline. Ben Godfrey picks up the softest of yellows for time-eating as he takes a free kick.
54 min: “Everton’s Brazilian striker has bagged two precious goals?” says Peter Oh. “Somewhere in Northern California, Mary Waltz must be dancing the samba.”
Funny you should mention her. She emailed at the start of the game. “Well, I have an excuse, a monthly lunch date with friends, to leave this match and stop the constant suffering of this season. When I return home I will find out if winter, relegation, has arrived.” Mary, as they say on Merseyside, nil desperandum.
52 min: Richarlison fancies a hat-trick, as you would. He gets the ball in acres, does some jinking, but then blasts it into the side netting.
Updated
50 min: A game of pinball in the Everton box, but Burnley can’t find a wizard. They get in there again, Cornet and Lennon do well to get crosses in, and Westwood’s shot is over the bar.
48 min: A caption informs us that Burnley have been behind at half-time in 12 league games this season, and have won none of them. Would it be fair to assume that they’ve never been behind by two penalties?
46 min: The second half begins with Gordon giving away a free kick for handball on Everton’s left. Burnley lob it into the box but can’t make anything of it.
“Absolute shambles this,” says Dante Stivano. “How are these two in the same league as City and Liverpool?!”
To be fair, nobody’s in the same league as those two.
Half-time! Burnley 1-2 Everton
A breathless half ends with Everton ahead, on penalties. Burnley lead on possession, shots, corners, passion – but also on fouls, and that has been their downfall.
As it stands, Everton have a big win and a fat cushion, six points clear of Watford. But Burnley are not out of this yet.
45+3 min: Burnley are still giving it everything. From the second corner, they keep it alive and manage a game of head tennis. And now there’s yet another corner...
45+1 min: Lennon, still good going forward, floats a cross over and wins another corner, turned over the bar by Richarlison.
Updated
45 min: There will be three more minutes.
44 min: So Burnley’s intensity has backfired. And Everton have two goals in an away game in the league for the first time since August, when they won 2-0 at Brighton.
“Evening Tim,” says Gary Byrne. “Who did you annoy to get stuck with this game on such a glorious night of Champions League football?” Ha. I volunteered! Love a good relegation scrap.
GOAL! Burnley 1-2 Everton (Richarlison 41)
We meet again, Mr Pope. And the result is the same as Richarlison takes less time and goes to the keeper’s left again.
Updated
Penalty! To Everton (again)
Mike Dean goes to the monitor. There is contact, maybe instep on instep rather than ankle... And he gives it!
39 min: Everton want another penalty as Lennon clips Mykolenko’s ankle... Mike Dean says no, but the VAR may take a different view.
37 min: Richarlison jinks past two defenders down the Everton left, but his cross loops over everyone.
35 min: When not slipping Lennon away down the right, Burnley are lumping it towards Weghorst. It’s primitive, but with no Michael Keane at the back it might just come off once.
33 min: Lennon is still enjoying himself down the right, because Richarlison is resting on his laurels rather than tracking back.
30 min: Pope does well to take a cross off the head of Richarlison. It’s end to end with both teams being enterprising. Everton have had more quality in attack, Burnley more quantity.
“Evening Tim,” says Stephen Carr. “I’ve never seen a more compelling argument for a European Super League than this game...” Harsh!
27 min: Everton are now playing football. A decent shot from Gordon is blocked by Maxwel Cornet, bravely, as it hits him in the balls. The VAR does a check for handball, a clear case of adding insult to injury.
25 min: Weghorst attempts a knock-down and succeeds only in starting an Everton attack, which would end in a simple header for Iwobi if it were not for a vital intervention from Collins, the man of the first 25 mins.
24 min: Everton get a good cross in from the left and it’s heading for the head of Doucoure, but Cornet does well to track back and beat him to it with a neat cushioned header to Pope. Then Richarlison gets a glimpse of goal again, only to send the ball into Row Z. An Everton corner comes to nowt.
While I was distracted by the goals, Richard Hirst was emailing. “The stats say Everton three fouls after six minutes,” he notes, “so not soft Southerners, but probably not finishing with 11 players either.” Ha, well, they’re on a run of reds: three in their last three games.
Updated
19 min: Everton have a spring in their step now, after being given that freebie, but Burnley are still showing the greater intensity.
GOAL! Burnley 1-1 Everton (Richarlison 18)
Richarlison takes his time, stutters, and scores! Low to Pope’s left.
Updated
Penalty! To Everton
Gordon gets manhandled by Westwood, and Mike Dean points to the spot! It’s arguable, but the VAR may not see it as a howler...
15 min: Lennon, enjoying his stroll down memory lane, wins another corner on the right. Everton deal with it better, which isn’t saying much. Frank Lampard’s face is like thunder.
Updated
GOAL! Burnley 1-0 Everton (Collins 12)
Aaron Lennon wins a corner and Nathan Collins is unmarked at the back post. He has time to line up a neat side-foot volley and park it in the far corner. It had been coming.
Updated
11 min: Everton finally get up the field with Gordon working hard on the right. They win a free kick in the middle, as Josh Brownhill rugby-tackles Richarlison (another early yellow), but they can’t do anything with it.
Updated
8 min: Chance! The ball falls to Ashley Westwood on the edge of the are, inviting him to curl it into the far corner. He curls it wide, but Burnley are still making the running.
6 min: There’s a lot of noise and it’s spurring Burnley on to win the 50-50s, but they haven’t troubled Jordan Pickford yet. I was wrong about Everton’s formation, by the way – it seems to be a 4-3-3 with Holgate in midfield. If he’d stayed at centre-back, he might not be on a yellow.
Updated
3 min: A yellow card! For Mason Holgate. Everton are threatening to become a shambles already, but they survive the resulting free kick.
An email! “I was delighted to read Sean Dyche’s exhortation to his players to ‘kick it in the net’,” says Peter Oh. “Given that Everton have a Latin motto, I wondered how the Burnley battle cry would sound in the old tongue. According to Popular Search Engine Translate, it is calcitrare en rete.
“In any case, I think we might be in for a dire nil-nil (null ut nulla).”
Updated
1 min: The first team to get forward are Burnley, pushing down the left and winning a couple of throw-ins, which come to nothing.
The players are out there and they take the knee before Mike Dean blows the whistle.
The bosses have spoken. “We need to be calm,” says Frank Lampard. “We need to play football,” says Sean Dyche, “and score goals.”
Teams: three changes for Burnley
Sean Dyche brings back Nathan Collins, Maxwell Cornet and Jay Rodriguez as Kevin Long, Jack Cork and Dwight McNeil drop to the bench.
Burnley (4-4-2): Pope; Roberts, Collins, Tarkowski, Taylor; Lennon, Westwood, Brownhill, Cornet; Weghorst, Rodriguez.
Subs: Hennessey, Long, Lowton, Thomas, Stephens, McNeil, Cork, Barnes, Vydra.
Teams: Gordon returns for Everton
Frank Lampard makes one enforced change, with Jarrad Branthwaite replacing the suspended Michael Keane, plus one of his own volition – Anthony Gordon for Demarai Gary. And Dele Alli still can’t get a start.
Everton (3-4-3): Pickford; Holgate, Godfrey, Branthwaite; Kenny, Doucoure, Iwobi, Mykolenko; Gordon, Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison.
Subs: Begovic, Coleman, Delph, Holgate, Price, Welch, Alli, El Ghazi, Gray, Rondon.
Preamble
Evening everyone and welcome to tonight’s big match. The Champions League is all very well, but it doesn’t offer much in the way of existential angst. A relegation tussle at Turf Moor on a wet Wednesday night: what more could you ask?
When these two teams last met, in mid-September, Everton came from behind to win 3-1 and moved up to fourth in the Premier League, just above Man City. Burnley were 14 places below them. Now the gap has narrowed to two places and four points. In the table since mid-September, Everton are bottom, while Burnley are bossing it in 17th.
The contrast in styles is delicious. Everton’s idea of coping with a crisis is to parachute in Frank Lampard, Dele Alli and Donny van de Beek. Burnley just keep calm and carry on being Burnleyesque: same old 4-4-2, same old tenacity, same old instinct for eking out a draw, same old manager in Sean Dyche, who took over at Turf Moor when Lampard was still scoring goals at Stamford Bridge.
This is a game that’s fiendishly hard to predict. The form guide insists that Everton will lose and Burnley won’t win. Their three league victories this season have all come against soft southerners – Brentford, Brighton and Spurs when they were still being Spursy. Do Everton, under Lampard, now qualify as honorary soft southerners? Tonight will tell.
