Seamus Coleman scored the only goal of the game to help Everton produce one of the narrow football results of the weekend in the Premier League. Everton eventually broke the deadlock in the 64th minute with a slightly risky goal in a tense clash at Goodison Field. Coleman pounced onto Alex Iwobi’s forward pass down the right, and as he hooked what appeared to be an attempted cross into the center, it hit the net from the tightest of angles, catching out goalkeeper Illan Meslier, who had left a large gap at his near post. It proved to be the game’s lone goal, as Sean Dyche’s team hung on for a well-deserved victory. After six points from three games under new coach Dyche, the club moved up to 16th place, one point above the drop zone.
Everton has two wins and two clean sheets in their last two home games, and Dyche stated after the game that his team wants to turn Goodison Park into a fortress. Meanwhile, Leeds, who failed to score a single goal in the entire 90 minutes, tumbled into the relegation zone after going 10 games without a win, falling to 19th. Following news of the midfielder’s death in Turkey in the earthquake, there was a period of applause before kickoff for Christian Atsu, who played 13 games for Everton on loan from Chelsea in the 2014/15 season.
With so much at stake for both sides at the bottom of the table, it was no wonder that the game got off to a tense start at Goodison Park. Everton, on the other hand, began to dominate the game, creating more chances, but Amadou Onana leaned back and blazed wide after Iwobi had released Idrissa Gana Gueye to cut back a low cross. Maximilian Wober hacked out Conor Coady’s header from underneath the crossbar from a 33rd-minute corner before Weston McKennie knocked Neal Maupay’s rebound off the line.
Meslier then parried James Tarkowski’s header from another Dwight McNeil corner, with Onana also nodding over as the hosts dominated until Leeds’ Crysencio Summerville headed into the roof of the net in first-half extra time. This came after a 21-man brawl erupted after Tyler Adams shoved McNeil into the hoardings, with the two protagonists, as well as Abdoulaye Doucoure and McKennie, arrested.
Wober was replaced by Rasmus Kristensen in the second half as Leeds shifted Luke Ayling into the center of defense, but Everton remained a threat, with McNeil volleying wide early on. When Everton’s nerves began to fray, Patrick Bamford failed to connect with Jack Harrison’s cross. Coleman, however, delivered the final blow as Everton’s comeback under Dyche continued at Goodison Park.
“I’m quite delighted; I requested utmost effort from the players, and they delivered today. We confined them to not having a shot on target – I hope, I’ll double-check – and it starts with the front players. Neal Maupay and the wide guys worked hard. But we were also superior with the ball,” Everton boss Sean Dyche said. “Scoring goals in this industry requires mobility, and the box is tight. If you shot but miss. I don’t mind as long as you shoot. That flexibility will increase as your performance and confidence improve. We had the ball in favorable areas and had the opportunity to score more goals. But 1-0 is OK with me. I’ve spoken to the group about consistency and sticking to our core beliefs – win, lose, or draw. Two mistakes change the feel of a game, and it wasn’t a million miles away at Liverpool. But I was satisfied with my mentality today.”
“I think we did enough without the ball and looked defensively solid. We anticipated it was going to be a second ball game, but we lacked a lot of ball control. I expected it to be a 1-0 game, and it was,” Leeds head coach Michael Skubala said. “We needed to be better with the ball and create more chances, and that is something we will look into. We could have been braver and used the ball more effectively. They are talented players who must be self-assured. It was about mental toughness for both teams, and I don’t think we lacked that; we rose to the occasion. However, we were caught off guard, and the lads will go again.”
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