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It was a “must not lose” game, but a late collapse despite leading at the break meant Frank Lampard’s Everton did exactly what they couldn’t afford. The situation is now bleaker than ever, and it seems likely that the Blues will be sitting in the bottom three come Sunday night, as they must take on Manchester United at Goodison Park while Burnley travel to bottom-dwellers Norwich City.
Defeated by the Dreadful
Entering Wednesday night’s match, Burnley were dead bottom across Europe in most attacking stats, and so when Everton led 2-1 at the break, it seemed as if Richarlison’s two penalties would be enough to secure at least a point. That, obviously, proved not to be true, as Everton ultimately conceded two more against the worst attack in all of Europe.
Burnley's possession ranks across Europe's Top 5 Leagues (98 teams):
— Matchday365 (@Matchday365) April 5, 2022
98th - possession (38.4%)
98th - touches
98th - shots on target
98th - passes completed
98th - pass accuracy
98th - ball carries
98th - progressive ball carries
98th - carries into the 18-yd box pic.twitter.com/aeoimVQxyV
Relief Turned Despair
Before turning Wednesday’s relegation six-pointer on its head, Burnley had failed to win a single game during which they trailed at the break, but Sean Dyche’s half-time team talk about Everton “not knowing how to win” was clearly effective enough to elicit the unprecedented.
Everton's loss at Turf Moor on Wednesday was the first time Burnley had turned a half-time deficit into a win this season. #EFC
— Garrett Post (@ParrettGost) April 8, 2022
Back-Line Blunders
Individual defensive errors were yet again Everton’s undoing, as Burnley capitalized on second-half mistakes from Jonjoe Kenny and Ben Godfrey to score two uncontested tap-ins and ultimately collect all three points. This was very representative of Everton’s season as a whole, as they have been unable to stop being their own enemies.
5 players have made more than 1 error directly leading to goals in the Premier League this season - 3 of them are Everton defenders (Seamus Coleman, Ben Godfrey and Michael Keane - 2 each). #EFC
— EFC Statto (@EFC_Statto) April 7, 2022
Confident From Twelve Yards
One of the most notable incidents during the beginning of Everton’s season occurred when Richarlison threw somewhat of a fit about not being allowed to take Everton’s penalty in the second half at the Amex Stadium, but it came to nothing when Calvert-Lewin ruthlessly dispatched into the bottom-left corner of Robert Sanchez’s net. However, DCL missed his penalty in the reverse fixture, and so Richarlison was finally given a chance from the spot at Turf Moor, and then a second, and made no mistake, making Premier League history in the process.
2 - For the first time in @premierleague history, an away side has scored two penalties during the opening 45 minutes of a match, with Richarlison netting both from the spot. Unprecedented.
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) April 6, 2022
Lacking a Leader
It’s been 14 years since the last time Everton’s leading goal-scorer in all competitions finished with a single-digit haul, and just last season Dominic Calvert-Lewin broke the 20-goal mark, becoming just the third man to do so for Everton in the Premier League era (Yakubu once and Lukaku thrice). This season, however, the man leading this category, Andros Townsend, has already been ruled out for the rest of the season and will finish on 7 goals. If no one in the squad catches him up, I’m certain that will coincide with Everton’s first relegation in 71 years.
Everton's top scorer in all competitions is Andros Townsend... he hasn't scored a league goal since October pic.twitter.com/07HQHiYQ6d
— SPORTbible (@sportbible) April 7, 2022
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