Burnley defeats Everton 2 – 1. England U21 winger McNeil turned sharply to beat Allan before curling expertly into the top corner from the edge of the penalty area to make it 2-0, after Chris Wood’s fine finish with Burnley’s first shot gave the visitors a 13th-minute lead.
Dwight McNeil’s stunning strike helped Burnley boost their Premier League survival hopes at the expense of Champions League-hopefuls Everton at Goodison Park.
The visitors had a penalty claim dismissed after the ball struck Ben Godfrey’s arm in an aerial challenge with Ben Mee prior to McNeil’s goal, and they were almost out of sight before half-time but Johann Gudmundsson’s low effort hit the post.
An entertaining first half took another twist as Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed in Tom Davies’ cross to halve the deficit, however, manager Carlo Ancelotti was dealt a further setback when England number one Jordan Pickford had to eventually be replaced after sustaining an injury in attempting to save Gudmundsson’s attempt.
Everton emerged from half-time determined to quickly restore parity, but Calvert-Lewin mistimed his header from Lucas Digne’s cross, while Burnley’s Matej Vydra was unable to capitalise on a couple of good opportunities to seal the points.
Sean Dyche’s side remain 15th but they are now seven points clear of the bottom three, while defeat leaves Everton five points adrift of the top-four positions.
Source – BBC News
