Everton were dealt a damaging blow to their hopes of avoiding relegation from Premier League with a demoralising defeat at fellow strugglers Burnley on Wednesday night.
The Blues lost 3-2 to the Clarets despite two first-half penalties from Richarlison and remain just one point above the drop spots with nine matches to play - the first of which comes on Saturday when Manchester United visit Goodison Park.
Plenty of national media outlets were in attendance at Turf Moor, along with our own Chris Beesley, and here is a round-up of what they had to say.
ADAM JONES ANALYSIS: Frank Lampard and players make major away fans mistake as Richarlison left in tears
JOE THOMAS VERDICT: Frank Lampard faces the unthinkable as 30 cruel minutes ask new questions at Everton
Ian Herbert, Mail Online
“It was hard to tell whether a cold sweat or the Lancashire drizzle was plastering Frank Lampard’s hair to his forehead but there will be moments of this desperate night which will keep him awake in the small hours, between now and the end of the season. This was a chance for Everton to open some space between themselves and the three sides beneath them, including Burnley.
“But instead, their defensive fragility revealed itself again, ultimately allowing Maxwel Cornet to drive home a goal five minutes from time which makes relegation for Lampard and his team still very much a possibility.
“Some perspective on this result. Burnley have won only two games at this stadium since January 2020. Yet the winning goal said everything about the struggle Lampard is having in recreating the rigour and intensity which typified the football he once played. An unchallenged first ball in from the left. A half-challenged resulting cross. And Cornet — a wonderful acquisition — arrived to score and lift the roof off this old ground.”
Ian Parker, via The Independent
“Maxwel Cornet struck five minutes from time to give Burnley a potentially vital 3-2 win over relegation rivals Everton in a frantic match which swung from end to end.
“Burnley had taken an early lead through Nathan Collins’ first goal for the club but then fell behind as Richarlison twice scored from the penalty spot before the break. And the game swung again in the second half as Jay Rodriguez levelled in the 56th minute before Cornet’s first goal since his return from the Africa Cup of Nations in January gave Burnley their first win in six games, moving them to within a point of Everton in 17th place.
“A soaked and dejected Frank Lampard trudged off the pitch at full-time, his side now having lost six straight away from home in the league, sucked ever deeper into trouble.”
Mike McGrath, via The Telegraph
“Everton are now staring at their first relegation in the Premier League era. They had victory in their sights when Richarlison’s two penalties cancelled out Nathan Collins’ opener. At that stage they had a seven-point cushion on the bottom three, yet fell apart when Sean Dyche’s team applied pressure.
“Dyche is a veteran of these survival battles and knows the significance of pulling Everton in. Frank Lampard’s team only have one point more than their relegation rivals and face Manchester United, Leicester (twice), Liverpool and Chelsea in their next fixtures. The momentum is going in one direction.
“It was Everton’s biggest relegation clash since 1994 when they survived on the final day of the season. Like that match against Wimbledon 28 years ago, they fought back from the brink but this team showed how brittle they are. Jay Rodriguez levelled for the hosts before Cornet sent the home fans wild."
Chris Beesley, via Liverpool Echo
“Many of Everton’s players are likely to wake up with headaches tomorrow morning, such was the aerial bombardment they faced from Burnley’s direct tactics at Turf Moor but the stark reality is they’ll be facing a lot more opponents of this ilk if they suffer relegation to the Championship next month.
“Those associated with the Blues won’t want to say it publicly but their side have just been beaten in a ‘must not lose’ fixture.
"Despite falling behind in lamentably predictable fashion from another set piece as Nathan Collins fired in at the back post from a corner-kick, Everton looked to have done the difficult work of fighting back and getting their noses in front by half-time with a brace of identikit coolly-taken penalties from Richarlison – the second of which came ironically via the helping hand of VAR – but if anything is even more excruciating for browbeaten Blues fans than their side’s woeful defending from dead ball situations, it’s the repeated manner in which individual mistakes are chronically costing them and threatening to lead them to the dreaded drop for the first time in 71 years.”
