Everton’s owner Farhad Moshiri made his first visit to Goodison Park in two years as the club paid its respects to the late Bill Kenwright.
Should it prove Moshiri’s final visit, with 777 Partners awaiting approval for their proposed takeover, he will exit reassured that progress is finally, genuinely being made under Sean Dyche. Everton registered a fifth win in seven matches in all competitions as they eased aside Dyche’s former club Burnley to reach the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup.
Apart from a spell of first-half pressure after James Tarkowski had opened the scoring against his old club, the hosts were superior in all departments to a Burnley team struggling to cope with the leap to Premier League level. Amadou Onana and the 38-year-old Ashley Young both capped fine individual displays with second-half goals to give the scoreline an accurate reflection of Everton’s comfort.
“The players are growing in belief,” said Dyche, who insisted he took no extra pleasure in defeating the club that sacked him in April 2022. “It’s work in progress but there is progress. I said at the start of the season that the performances were there but when you start winning people start to believe more. The players are starting to believe more and five wins in seven is a good marker.”
Everton staged a fine tribute before kick-off to Kenwright, the club’s chairman for the past 19 years who died last week following a long illness. His partner, Jenny Seagrove, daughter Lucy Kenwright and friend, the Everton legend Joe Royle, all laid wreaths in the centre circle amid warm applause from all sides of Goodison. An Everton scarf was draped over the chairman’s seat.
The breakthrough was made in Burnley. Former Claret Dwight McNeil, unceremoniously booed throughout by the away fans, created the goal with a lovely first touch and cross after Jay Rodriguez headed a James Garner cross into his path on the left. Tarkowski gave the delivery the finish it deserved, leaving Arijanet Muric rooted to the spot with a towering header.
Tarkowski’s goal awoke his former club, and there was more energy, bravery and intent to Burnley’s play for the remainder of the first half. Alert defending from Jarrad Branthwaite and Garner denied Jacob Bruun Larsen and Rodriguez respectively.
Newcastle will travel to Chelsea in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup after knocking out both Manchester clubs. Eddie Howe's side followed up their victory over City with a 3-0 win over United at Old Trafford with goals from Miguel Almirón, Lewis Hall and Joe Willock.
The Magpies will now face five-times winners Chelsea, who beat Championship Blackburn thanks to goals from Benoît Badiashile and Raheem Sterling at Stamford Bridge.
West Ham's reward for a 3-1 victory over Arsenal is a trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool, who edged out Bournemouth 2-1 thanks to Darwin Núñez's superb winner, while Everton will play Fulham.
There will be a team from the English Football League in the semi-finals with League One Port Vale hosting Championship Middlesbrough. PA Media
Draw Everton v Fulham; Chelsea v Newcastle; Port Vale v Middlesbrough; Liverpool v West Ham. Ties to be played week commencing 18 December.
Vincent Kompany’s team required an end product to reward their encouraging reaction. Instead, they conceded a soft goal shortly after the restart and their prospects of recovery were effectively ended as a consequence. To add to the visitors’ annoyance, their old boys in royal blue were instrumental in Everton’s second goal too.
McNeil’s left foot was again the source, sending a corner deep into the Burnley area where Tarkowski rose above Bruun Larson to head back across goal. Onana could not fail to miss from two yards out and tucked away his first goal of the season. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Jack Harrison and the substitute Beto all had sights of Muric’s goal in the closing stages as Everton looked more likely to claim a third than concede to a Burnley side deflated by Onana’s predatory strike. It arrived in stoppage time when Beto surged down the left and delivered an inviting cross for Young to convert at close range.
Kompany reflected: “I’ve never mastered the art of feeling good after a defeat, so it doesn’t feel good, but it feels different to what we felt after Brentford. The first half was good but mistakes cost you at this level. It is not supposed to be easy at this level. You are on a journey to get to this level and it is not easy in year one, but you have to deal with it and go again.”
