Match report: Brighton 1-5 Everton
Premier League: “The muckiest, grubbiest of away wins would have sufficed for Everton but this was not one of them,” writes Nick Ames from the Amex Stadium. “They took Brighton apart with as lethal a counterattacking display as any team will produce all season, scoring three times in the first half and not being remotely flattered.”
Sean Dyche speaks ...
“That was the thing,” he tells BT Sport, upon being asked how well his players executed his game plan tonight. “You work on it in training but it doesn’t always get delivered. They delivered it fantastically well tonight.”
On Dwight McNeil: “You know, I actually thought he lost his way a little bit in the second half. He’s been in really good form since I got to the club despite there being questions marks over him but he’s been terrific since I’ve been here.
“He’s back to enjoying what he does, carrying the ball … he’s good at that. He’s got quality and his calmness for his goal at the end was terrific. There was a lot of good performances tonight and it was a very good collective performance.”
Jordan Pickford speaks ...
“Off the ball we know what a top side Brighton have been and off the ball the manager has come in and been brilliant for them,” says the Everton goalkeeper in an interview with the BBC. “We had our gameplan and when it is executed like that it is a great day. Still, we have three cup finals and we have to keep going. You have to take a lot of positives from that.
“The gaffer made a couple of changes. We set the standard early. We have to keep going as a group, the togetherness is there but just don’t take the foot off the gas. I thought Dominic Calvert-Lewin was quality with his hold up play, Dwight McNeil as well. All the lads got reward for their play.
“When called upon I have to be there to make saves and I think I did that today. We have to keep believing and focus on Everton, not what is around us.”
A quick recap: Everton roared out of the traps, opening the scoring inside 35 seconds when Abdoulaye Doucoure sidefooted home an inch-perfect cross from Dominic Calvert-Lewin. His tail up, the Mali international was on hand to double Everton’s lead, volleying home a Dwight McNeil cross before Jason Steele made it 3-0 to the visitors with an avoidable own goal from another McNeil cross.
Playing the game of his life, McNeil made it 4-0 to Everton, walking the ball into the Brighton goal after making fools of Lewis Dunk and Steele. Despite sauffering from cramp, he was able to summon the energy for one last gallop upfield, latching on to a through ball before firing home from a tight angle after Alexis Mac Allister had pulled a goal back for Brighton.
Despite the scoreline, Everton didn’t have it all their own way and had to rely on Jordan Pickford to pull off some sensational saves as Brighton rallied in the second half after making four changes at the break. Solly March was a constant thorn in Everton’s side after his introduction but was forced off with a hamstring injury he suffered in the build-up to McNeil’s first goal.
Full time: Brighton 1-5 Everton
Peep! Peep! Peeeeeeeeeep! It’s all over at Brghton, where Everton have stunned Brighton, everyone who was watching and possibly thermselves with an absolute demolition job on their hosts. They scored in the opening and closing minutes, also finding time to sandwich another three goals in between.
Abdoulaye Doucoure and Dwight McNeil bagged two each, while Brighton goalkeeper Jason Steele chipped in with an own goal to add to Everton’s tally. Alexis Mac Allister bagged a consolation for Brighton, although the Argentinian knew little or nothing about his goal. Everton go 16th, two points clear from the relegation zone.
GOAL! Brighton 1-5 Everton (McNeil 90+7)
Everton score again! Dwight McNeil walked his first goal in but he rifles his second home from a tight angle after running from inside his own half to pick a ball in behind the Brghton defence. He runs and runs and runs towards goal with two defenders in hot pursuit before firing into the near top corner from a tight angle. It’s a stunning strike.
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90+6 min: Well, who saw this result coming? Not me, that’s for sure. It’s a massive win for Everton, who have been outstanding against a strangely out-of-sorts Brighton this evening. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Iwobi, Pickford, Dwight McNeil, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Jordan Pickford have all been outstanding. But hold on …
90+4 min: Iwobi breaks upfield on another Everton counter-attack. He plays the ball in to the centre to Maupay, who moves it wide to Doucoure. Brighton regroup and force their visitors backwards.
90+2 min: Brighton corner. Gross sends the ball in to the penalty area, it gets a flick from Colwell and Mitoma, perhaps caught unawares, chests it wide when he should have tried to steer a header goalwards.
90 min: A nice touch from Evan Ferguson tees up Moises Caicedo, who is leaning back as he shoots and consequently fires over the bar. We’ll have six minutes of added time.
89 min: Jordan Pickford dashes out of his goal to flap a cross upfield, barges Mac Allister out of his way as he runs back to his line and goes down “injured”. He’s back up on his feet quickly enough.
88 min: Dunk floats the ball into the Everton penalty area, where Mitoma knocks it down for Ferguson. He tries to hook the bouncing ball home into the bottom corner but is denied by another sensational Pickford save.
85 min: Everton double-substitution: Amadou Onana and Neal Maupay on for Idrissa Gueye and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Let’s see if Maupay can end his 24-game goal drought against his former club.
83 min: Connecting with a cross from the right, Mitoma steers a volley goalwards with considerable pace on the ball. His effort is on target but the ball hits his team-mate Levi Colwill, who unwittingly denies his own side a second goal.
82 min: In the build-up to Everton’s most recent goal, Solly March appeared to pull his hamstring as he chased back to try to relieve Alex Iwobi of the ball. He’s since been replaced by Billy Gilmour and Brighton have now used all five of their substitutes.
GOAL! Brighton 1-4 Everton (Mac Allister 78)
Brighton pull one back. The ball is crossed to the far post, where Mac Allister stretches to reach it but misses, landing on his back on the ground. Behind him, Mitoma stuck out a leg and steered the ball on to the upright. It ricocheted off the woodwork, hit the rone Mac Allister on the shoulder and rolled over the line. It’s a bit of a fluke but they all count.
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78 min: McNeil has been one of several Everton players who have been outstanding this evening but while Everton fans will be delighted with his contribution, they could be forgiven for being frustrated that he only delivers the goods in this fashion once in a blue moon.
GOAL! Brighton 0-4 Everton (McNeil 76)
Everton score again! They increase their lead completely against the run of play on a counter-attack from a Brighton corner. Alex Iwobi plays a beautiful ball into space for McNeil, who chops inside two defenders, sits Jason Steele on his backside and literally walks the ball into the net, celebrating before he’d strolled it over the line.
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75 min: Jordan Pickford incurs more Brighton fan wrath, sticking out an arm to deny Mac Allister with a brilliant save from the Argentinian’s superb header.
74 min: Alexis Mac Allister is cutting an increasingly frustrated figure and is penalised for a foul on Idrissa Gueye after running into the back of the Everton midfielder as he tries to shield the ball in midfield.
72 min: Jordan Pickford is incurring the wrath of Brighton’s fans by dawdling over kick-offs. Does he care? Not one jot.
68 min: March and Gross combine down the right for Brighton, with the latter playing the former into space near the byline. Gross tries to stand the ball up for Ferguson at the far post but Everton clear.
66 min: Brighton aren’t so much knocking on the door as trying to kick it in but Everton’s rearguard is just about holding firm. This time it’s Evan Ferguson who has a rising drive tipped on to the bar and over by Jordan Pickford. From the subsequent corner, Alexis Mac Allister gets a near post flick but rattles the cross-bar with his header.
63 min: Solly March cuts in from the right, getting the better of Mykolenko, then tries to curl a shot inside the far post. It’s a fizzing effort that’s on target and seems to have Pickford beaten but Yerry Mina cuts it out with an important defensive header.
61 min: Brighton win another corner and Solly March sends the ball into the penalty area. Pickford comes to claim the ball and doesn’t get near it but Yerry Mina sends the ball out for another corner with a header. Everton clear that inswinger with far less fuss.
59 min: Pascal Gross curls the ball towards the far post, where Evan Ferguson meets it and executes a perfect downward header. Jordan Pickford saves brilliantly with a strong right hand. The flag goes up for offside but I’m not so sure the referee’s assistant is correct … not that it matters.
58 min: Solly March has been a constant menace since coming on but Vitaly Mykolenko seems to have his number for now. The Brighton substitute charges forward down the inside right but Mykolenko shepherds him to the byline before winning the ball from him.
56 min: Abdoulaye Doucoure gets booked for dissent after complaining that a Brighton free-kick some distance away from the Everton goal wasn’t being taken from exactly the right place.
55 min: Pascal Gross has a shot blocked in the Everton penalty area after being teed up by Solly March.
54 min: Julio Enciso tries to play Evan Ferguson into space on the edge of the Everton six-yard box. Vitaly Mykolenko reads the situation and gets his body in the way of the Irish striker.
53 min: Nathan Patterson sticks out a leg to dispossess Kaoru Mitoma as the Brighton winger tries to shimmy past him down the left touchline.
50 min: Having started the second half with renewed attacking vigour, Brighton have at least roused their fans from the collective slumber into which they’d fallen during the course of the first half.
48 min: Evan Ferguson has a shot blocked and the ball breaks to Solly March, hitting Dwight McNeil’s hand en route. March’s shot is saved by Pickford and Brighton aren’t awarded a spot-kick for what looked a completely unintentional and unavoidable handball by the Everton winger.
47 min: Solly March gets in behind Mykolenko by the byline and drills the ball towards the upright. Pascal Gross is unable to get a toe to it.
Second half: Brighton 0-3 Everton
46 min: Play resumes with Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi having made four changes in personnel. Levi Colwill, Solly March, Julio Enciso and Evan Ferguson are on for Webster, Buonanotte, Undav and Welbeck.
As things stand: A win for Everton will take them to 16th place, two points clear of a relegation zone in which they’d be replaced by Leeds. A draw or win for Nottingham Forest against Southampton later this evening would take them out of the drop zone and drop Leicester, who were beaten by Fulham earlier today, into the bottom three.
Half-time: Brighton 0-3 Everton
Peep! Well, well, well. Referee Simon Hooper draws the first half to a close and it’s difficult to know which set of players are more shell-shocked by the score at the interval. Brighton have been pretty dismal with few of their big name players delivering anything resembling their best and have been punished ruthlessly by an Everton side in which Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Dwight McNeill and Abdoulaye Doucoure, among others, have been outstanding.
45+4 min: Jason Steele saves superbly from James Garner, who was trying to finish a counter-attack he’d started in his own half after winning the ball from Alexis Mac Allister. He moved the ball on to Calvert-Lewin who picked out McNeill on the overlap. Garner had continued his run and was on hand to meet McNeil’s cross, only to be foiled by Steele, with a little help from Lewis Dunk.
45+3 min: Dominic Calvert-Lewin miscontrols the ball, has it nicked off his toe by Mac Allister and lunges in to try to win it back. Yellow card.
45+1 min: Vitaly Mykolenko is fouled by Facundo Buonanotte, giving Everton a free-kick deep inside their own half. Jordan Pickford gets the ball launched.
43 min: Patterson gets the better of Mitoma, showing good defensive gumption to slide in and put the ball out for a corner before the Japanese winger can get around him to latch on to a ball through the centre.
40 min: Brighton win a free-kick about 30 yards from the Everton goal, well left of centre. Pascal Gross crosses the ball towards the far post, trying to pick out Lewis Dunk. Everton clear.
38 min: Another Everton counter-attack with Dwight McNeil on the ball. He charges forward with Dominic Calvert-Lewin up in support, draws Adam Webster and tries to roll the ball into his team-mate’s path. It takes a nick off the defender and another good goal-scoring chance goes to waste.
GOAL! Brighton 0-3 Everton (Steele 36og)
Crikey! Everton extend their lead as Jason Steele turns a low, hard Dwight McNeil cross from close range into his own net while hunkering down to try to block it at his near post.
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34 min: Buonanotte sends a cross from the right towards the far post, Mitoma volleys the ball back across the face of goal and James Tarkowski puts his body on the line to prevent Danny Welbeck from bundling the ball home.
32 min: Mitoma cuts inside Patterson again, then tries to pick out Mac Allister with a curled ball to the far post. James Tarkowski heads it out for a corner and nothing comes of the set piece.
GOAL! Brighton 0-2 Everton (Doucoure 29)
Everton double their lead. It’s a superb counter-attack, with Dwight McNeil advancing upfield down the inside left after receiving the ball from Doucoure. He looks up, spots Doucoure galloping towards the far post and lofts in a cross. The finish is sublime, with Doucoure steering a cushioned volley past Jason Steele, who had little or not chance of keeping the ball out.
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27 min: Jordan Pickford kicks the ball straight to Danny Welbeck about 30 yards from the Everton goal but the striker isn’t able to control it and the England goalkeeper gets away with his error.
26 min: Adam Webster blocks from McNeil again, lunging in after the Everton winger had been picked out by a Doucoure pull-back and made room to unleash a shot from 10 yards with a little shimmy.
24 min: Another booking. Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye has his name taken for a scything challenge on Kairo Mitoma as the winger cantered up the left touchline.
23 min: Dominic Calvert-Lewin is looking sharp tonight and wins the ball in midfield as Brighton try to make their way upfield. He plays it wide to Dwight McNeil, who forges forward before unleashing a shot with his left foot. Adam Webster blocks, putting the ball out for a corner. Nothing comes of it.
21 min: Lewis Dunk gets booked for a cynical foul on Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who had rolled him in midfield, forcing the Brighton captain to foul him to prevent him getting away.
18 min: Having been given a long talking-to by referee Simon Hooper for something-or-other a few minutes ago, Yerry Mina gets booked for dissent for arguing after Alex Iwobi is quite correctly penalised for a foul on Alexis Mac Allister. On the touchline, Sean Dyche shakes his head, presumably unimpressed with the Everton defender’s stupidity.
16 min: Moises Caicedo gives the ball away on the edge of his own penalty area as Brighton try to play it out from the back. Dominic Calvert- Lewin shoots goalwards but his weak effort trundles wide of the left upright.
15 min: Everton launch a counter-attack and the ball is crossed into the Brighton penalty area. Jason Steele plucks it from the air before it can drop for the waiting Abdoulaye Doucoure.
13 min: Brighton are targeting Nathan Patterson and once again Kairo Mitoma gets the better of the young Scot, driving past him on his inside. He pulls the ball back to Alexis Mac Allister, whose shot is blocked.
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12 min: Alex Iwobi is penalised for a foul on Mitoma and from the ensuing free-kick, the ball is worked across the face of the Everton penalty area. Pascal Gross tries to play the ball to the feet of Deniz Undav but his pass is intercepted.
10 min: Brighton seemed to have settled into the game after that very early setback and are having the better of proceedings at the moment. They’re forced into defensive mode again as Dominic Calvert-Lewin tries to pull the ball into their penalty area from the byline.
7 min: Mitoma gets another cross into the Everton penalty area but it’s cleared by Vitaly Mykolenko.
5 min: Nathan Patterson fails his first test of the evening against Kaoru Mitoma. The Japanese winger cuts inside the Everton right-back with ease and tries to pick out Welbeck with a cross. Stretching to reach the ball, the Brighton striker sends it out of play.
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3 min: What a start for Everton! Alex Iwobi won the ball and played it up the inside right for Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who took it on the turn, spinning away from Lewis Dunk. In acres of space, he advanced, crossed to Doucoure at the far post and the Mali international swept home from seven yards.
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GOAL! Brighton 0-1 Everton (Doucoure 1)
Everton lead inside a minute! Everton win the ball and break upfield and a mistake from Lewis Dunk allows Dominic Calvert-Lewin to pick out Abdoulaye Doucoure at the far post. His task couldn’t be simpler and he taps in with 34 seconds on the clock.
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Brighton v Everton is go ...
1 min: Following a rendition of the national anthem that doesn’t go down to well with the visiting fans from Merseyside who try their hardest to drown it out, Brighton get the ball rolling. Their players wear their customary home kit of blue and white stripes, white shorts and white socks. The players of Everton wear lilac shirts, black shorts and lilac socks. Having played at right-back against Manchester United, it looks like Moises Caicedo will move back into the midfield, with Pascal Gross taking over in defence.
Not long now: The teams make their way out on to the pitch led by referee Simon Hooper and his team of match officials. Lewis Dunk wears the captain’s armband for Brighton, while Jordan Pickford skippers Everton in the absence of the injured Seamus Coleman.
Meanwhile in the Championship: With Burnley and Sheffield United already guaranteed automatic promotion going into today’s last round of fixtures, and Wigan, Blackpool and Reading already down, the battle for the play-off places was the focus for today’s action. Middlesbrough and Luton had already booked two of the four berths and Coventry City and Sunderland will join them.
Coventry stayed in fifth in place on the back of their 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough, while Sunderland leapfrogged Millwall into sixth place courtesy of a 3-0 win over Preston at Deepdale. Despite being 3-1 up at home against Blackburn and looking set fair to snatch the final spot at Sunderland’s expense, Millwall ended up losing 4-3 and drop out of the play-off places. Luton will play Sunderland and Middlesbrough will Coventry City in the semi-finals, with the winners meeting at Wembley.
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Elsewhere in the Premier League: Jamie Vardy missed a penalty as Leicester City lost 5-3 at Fulham despite a vaguely rousing comeback effort after going 4-0 down after 51 minutes.
It was a defensive horror show from Leicester, who sit two places above the relegation zone on 30 points but only on goal difference from Leeds and Nottingham Forest directly below them.
Those teams: Everton make two changes to the side that drew at Leicester last time out. Yerry Mina comes in to the centre of their defence for his first appearance under Sean Dyche, while Nathan Patterson starts at right-back in place of the injured Seamus Coleman. Michael Keane drops to the bench.
Pascal Gross returns for Brighton, with Billy Gilmour making way from the side that started against Manchester United last week. Deniz Undav starts up front alongside Danny Welbeck, with Julio Enciso dropping to the bench, where he will sit alongside Brighton’s teenage Irish sensation Evan Ferguson.
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Brighton v Everton line-ups
Brighton: Steele, Estupinan, Caicedo, Dunk, Webster, Gross, Mac Allister, Mitoma, Buonanotte, Undav, Welbeck.
Subs: Sanchez, Colwill, March, Enciso, Ayari, Gilmour, Ferguson, Van Hecke, Moran.
Everton: Pickford, Patterson, Mykolenko, Mina, Tarkowski, Gueye, Garner, Doucoure, McNeil, Iwobi, Calvert-Lewin.
Subs: Begovic, Holgate, Keane, Onana, Gray, Maupay, Davies, Coady, Simms.
Everton: According to the latest accounts, Everton’s “ability to continue as a going concern” will be in doubt should they fall through the trapdoor this month. Just what are their prospects of survival before Monday’s visit to European hopefuls Brighton? Andy Hunter investigates …
Today’s match officials
Referee: Simon Hooper.
Assistants: Adrian Holmes and Mark Scholes.
Fourth official: Graham Scott.
VAR: Darren England.
Brighton: The Brazilian forward João Pedro has joined Brighton from Watford for a club-record £30m fee, signing a five-year contract running until June 2028. The Seagulls are also closing in on the signing of consumate professional and Liverpool midfield veteran James Milner. Italian transfer guru Fabrizio Romano has the latest …
Everton: Sean Dyche has admitted livelihoods are at stake in Everton’s final four matches and he intends to restore “core values” to the club irrespective of its Premier League fate. Andy Hunter reports …
Brighton v Everton: Early team news
The loss of Seamus Coleman to injury for the rest of the season is quite the hammer blow for Everton, not least when you consider that whoever is tasked with filling his Nike Tiempo Legend 9’s will have to try to contain the serious left-wing handful that is Kaoru Mitoma this evening.
It won’t be Ben Godfrey, who is out with a groin injury, which is almost certainly for the best given some of the roastings he’s been forced to endure while playing out of position as Coleman’s deputy in recent weeks. Yet to get his Everton career going nearly 16 months after joining the club, Nathan Patterson may have to step despite Sean Dyche saying a couple of weeks ago that the Scotland intenrational cannot yet consider himself “a bona fide Premier League player”.
Brighton are without long-term absentees Joel Veltman, Adam Lallana, Tariq Lamptey, Jeremy Sarmiento and Jukub Moder, while Pascal Gross and Evan Ferguson were rated at no better than 50-50 going into today’s game after missing out on their side’s win over Manchester United. Both could feature on the bench but neither is expected to start.
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Premier League: Brighton v Everton
Hoo-boy! Have we got a game for you! Still bang in contention for a fourth place finish and the place in next year’s Champions League that comes with it, Brighton & Hove Albion host an Everton team in dire need of points as they continue to circle the Premier League plug-hole after yet another season of dire recruitment, awful management and totally unsurprising on-field struggle.
Brighton sit seventh in the Premier League, eight points behind Manchester United in fourth but have two games in hand over Erik Ten Hag’s side and three over Tottenham and Liverpool in sixth and fifth place respectively. With games against Everton, Arsenal, Newcastle, Southampton, Manchester City and Aston Villa to come, Roberto Di Zerbi’s side can still nab a top four spot and have a major say on the final placings at both ends of the table.
Everton, by contrast, are in deep trouble and have just four games to drag themselves out of the mire. Without a win in seven and having taken just four of the past 21 points available, they sit second from bottom and – working on the assumption that Southampton are already sunk – look to be in the most unseemly of scrambles with Nottingham Forest, Leeds and Leicester to avoid the two remaining relegation places.
After tonight’s game they host Manchester City, before rounding off the campaign with a visit to Wolves followed by a home game against Bournemouth. Survival is not beyond them, but with Forest hosting Southampton later this evening, it could look an increasingly tall order come pub closing time if they can’t take something from tonight’s game. Kick-off at the Amex Stadium is at 5.30pm but stay tuned in the meantime for team news and build-up.
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