There’s nothing better than taking a tour of Goodison Park. Everton ended their home campaign with another solid win before taking a lap around the pitch to thank supporters for their support during another tumultuous game. Unity has paid dividends.
Sean Dyche’s side ended the campaign with a fifth consecutive home win and clean sheet at Goodison Park, beating bottom-of-the-table Sheffield United to level the club Premier League record. Only Manchester City and Arsenal have picked up more points since the start of April than Everton, who have overcome unprecedented obstacles this season and would have been 11th in the table if not for two separate points deductions.
It was a rare carefree afternoon for Everton. At least that’s how it looks on the surface. The sun was shining, the nails were not bitten and Premier League survival was assured for the first time in three seasons before their final home game, with Dyche’s side comfortably better than the relegated visitors in a big way. But, of course, Everton’s existence is anything but carefree.
Speaking on the show, Everton director of football Kevin Thelwell echoed the manager’s warning that they will have to raise funds this summer due to the club’s dire financial situation and the uncertainty over a takeover. Thelwell wrote: “While we want to ensure the squad is as competitive as possible, we cannot lose sight of the central aim of protecting the club’s long-term stability. This does mean players will be sold and all the tools at our disposal will Used to secure new additions to the squad, including tapping the loan market.
Another day for another round of negative reports involving 777 Partners, the troubled investment firm that only Farhad Moshiri considers to be the “right person” to take over Everton. The company has reportedly hired insolvency experts and removed co-founders Josh Wander and Steve Pasko from its football division’s board. Their proposed acquisition has not yet been officially terminated.
To their credit, Everton’s players and management continue to act as if they are immune to serious disruption, whether it be points deductions, threats from the government or doubts about their own future.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin single-handedly dominated the Manchester United defence, another impressive performance from the centre-forward. The striker was the first attacker on almost every ball in the air and on the ground, setting up the pace as he collected James Tarkowski’s long ball and nutmeg Auston Trusty. Doucoure created a great chance to open the scoring. Doucoure was completely unmarked in front of goal and should have scored, but instead fired straight at goalkeeper Wes Fodlingham. Trust regained ground and stopped the midfielder from rebounding.
Everton combined again to give Dyche’s side a deserved lead. Calvert-Lewin started the move when he cleared Jordan Pickford to Amadou Onana before bursting into space on the left. Dwight McNeil found the forward with a perfect pass and as Foderingham raced off the line, Calvert-Lewin rounded the United keeper and passed the ball back from the byline. This time Ducoure made no mistake with his header from close range. Earlier, the goalscorer was reprimanded by Dyche for not getting close enough to Calvert-Lewin to exploit his intelligence. Wise advice.
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Chris Wilder’s side posed little threat until the second half, when the performance was more determined and intense. Minutes after Everton broke through, their cause could have been seriously damaged when Jack Robinson raised his hands and pushed Calvert-Lewin to the ground with force. The United captain completely lost his mind after the striker leapt past Yasser Larouchi, only to be shown a yellow card by referee Stuart Atwell. VAR found no reason for the upgrade. Calvert-Lewin was also booked, perhaps because of something he said that aroused widespread suspicion.
The visitors made progress after the break and stretched Everton’s defense on several occasions but failed to find the end product their approach required. Ben Brereton Diaz, Cameron Archer and Gustavo Hammer all created good chances, while Jarrad Branthwaite is likely to be playing for Everton for the last time Coming on at Goodison Park as he represented the club’s most valuable player, he nearly caught Pickford with a dangerous backpass.Everton substitutes Yousef Cermiti and James Garner both missed clear chances to hand the home side a comfortable win
