Everton shrugged off a seven-match winless run at their new Hill Dickinson Stadium with a 2-0 victory over Burnley on Tuesday boosting their chances of European qualification as Leeds United’s Premier League relegation fears deepened with a 1-0 home defeat by Sunderland.
James Tarkowski’s first-half header and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s second-half shot gave eighth-placed Everton their first home win for almost three months to put them on 43 points, two behind sixth-placed Chelsea.
Fifteenth-placed Leeds had the chance to move nine points clear of 18th-placed West Ham United but missed out as Sunderland took the points, thanks to a second-half penalty converted by Habib Diarra at a raucous Elland Road.
Leeds had seen a goal by Joe Rodon ruled out for offside shortly before Sunderland’s penalty, awarded after a VAR check for a handball by Ethan Ampadu.
The win put promoted Sunderland on 40 points, 15 ahead of the relegation zone, and seemingly safe.
Bournemouth and Brentford drew 0-0, a result that moved Bournemouth into the top half and left Brentford seventh.
Everton’s move out of their historic Goodison Park home to a state-of-the-art arena next to the River Mersey has elevated the club’s income but wins have been hard to come by there.
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But David Moyes’s side turned on the style to comfortably dispose of second-from-bottom Burnley.
Defender Tarkowski broke the deadlock against his former club in the 32nd minute with a thumping header from James Garner’s in-swinging delivery.
The hosts doubled their lead on the hour when Iliman Ndiaye sent Dewsbury-Hall clear to dink a finish over Martin Dubravka for his sixth league goal of the season.
Idrissa Gueye almost made it 3-0 with a curling effort that smacked against the crossbar.
Burnley’s 18th league defeat of the season left them eight points from the safety zone with nine games remaining.
Reuters/NAN.
