Burnley 3-2 Everton: Player ratings as late Cornet strike piles the pressure on Frank Lampard
By Tom Gott
Everton's relegation fears grew stronger on Wednesday as they fell 3-2 to fellow strugglers Burnley at Turf Moor.
An end-to-end game, which saw both teams leading at different points, was eventually decided by a late strike from Maxwel Cornet, who capitalised on some sloppy defending from the visitors to net a goal which could go a long way to defining Burnley's season.
The game got off to a decent tempo, with the first chance falling to Ashley Westwood inside ten minutes. He found some space on the edge of the box but his curled effort drifted just wide of Jordan Pickford's far post.
A few minutes later, the Clarets took the lead through Nathan Collins, who peeled away from the crowd following a corner and side-footed the ball into the bottom corner after some poor defending from Everton.
However, Everton were gifted the chance to get back into things shortly after when Anthony Gordon was awarded a penalty, and Richarlison made no mistake from 12 yards.
That gave Everton a renewed confidence and the Toffees continued to push for the go-ahead goal, with Richarlison coming close to adding a second soon after.
Five minutes before the break, Everton were awarded a second penalty after a clumsy foul from Aaron Lennon, and Richarlison put his effort the same way to put his side 2-1 up heading into half-time.
Like the first half, Burnley began the second on top, but Richarlison came close to adding a third as he thundered an effort against the outside of Nick Pope's post.
Everton were made to pay as Jay Rodriguez fired the hosts level in the 57th minute. The striker made a smart run in the box and tapped home a Charlie Taylor cross from inside the six-yard box.
Frank Lampard's side didn't let this one slow their tempo and were largely dominant in the search for the fifth goal of the game, although they didn't really test Pope too much
And as the clock ticked on, the game became more like a basketball match, with both teams flying at each other, and Burnley began to make their presence known.
With five minutes to go, it was Burnley who found the crucial goal. This time, it was Cornet who was on the receiving end of a cut-back, with the winger thundering home to seal all three points.
Burnley player ratings
1. Goalkeeper & defenders
Nick Pope (GK) - 6/10 - Helpless for the two penalties but generally did alright.
Connor Roberts (RB) - 3/10 - Ruined by Richarlison over and over and over again.
Nathan Collins (CB) - 7/10 - Took his goal nicely and did his best to try and keep his side in this.
James Tarkowski (CB) - 7/10 - Had to work hard to deal with Everton's forwards. Some fantastic recovery blocks.
Charlie Taylor (LB) - 6/10 - Struggled up against Gordon but showed a great turn of pace to set up Rodriguez. Involved in the third as well.
2. Midfielders
Aaron Lennon (RM) - 5/10 - A poor decision for the second penalty but showed some decent energy after the break.
Ashley Westwood (CM) - 5/10 - Enjoyed a really hot start but fizzled out in the first half. Did his best to bounce back after the break.
Josh Brownhill (CM) - 4/10 - An early booking and a bit of a hectic performance.
Maxwel Cornet (LM) - 6/10 - Took a nasty shot to the unmentionables in the first half and was slow to recover, but netted the all-important goal well.
3. Forwards
Wout Weghorst (ST) - 4/10 - Found it hard to get into the game and his hold-up play wasn't nearly good enough.
Jay Rodriguez (ST) - 6/10 - Had a quiet first half but showed his intelligence for his goal. A smart run.
4. Substitutes
Matt Lowton (RB, 72' for Roberts) - 6/10
Matej Vydra (ST, 80' for Weghorst) - 6/10
Dwight McNeil (RM, 84' for Lennon) - N/A
Everton player ratings
5. Goalkeeper & defenders
Jordan Pickford (GK) - 5/10 - Didn't cover himself in glory for the Burnley goal. Got nowhere near it.
Jonjoe Kenny (RB) - 4/10 - Guilty of overhitting some crosses but put himself about trying to disrupt Burnley. Didn't always get it right.
Ben Godfrey (CB) - 5/10 - Generally alright but guilty of a nasty slice that ended up costing Everton.
Jarrad Branthwaite (CB) - 5/10 - Looked composed in the first half but guilty of some poor moments after the break.
Vitaliy Mykolenko (LB) - 5/10 - Looked panicked under pressure whenever Lennon came at him.
6. Midfielders
Anthony Gordon (RM) - 6/10 - Led by example with his work rate. Another impressive performance from the youngster.
Mason Holgate (CM) - 4/10 - Booked after two minutes for a tough challenge and looked scared to make a tackle after that.
Abdoulaye Doucoure (CM) - 3/10 - Not a great showing from Doucoure. Looked a bit lost and off the pace. Sloppy pressing for the final goal.
Alex Iwobi (LM) - 6/10 - A solid showing from Iwobi. A few moments of madness but generally looked dangerous throughout.
7. Forwards
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (ST) - 5/10 - Found it hard to get involved in the box but made a handful of nice passes to those around him.
Richarlison (ST) - 7/10 - Two classy penalties and a number of dangerous moments. Could have had a few more goals to his name as well.
8. Substitutes
Demarai Gray (RM, 73' for Gordon) - 6/10
Salomon Rondon (ST), 87' for Holgate) - N/A