Bournemouth moved just three points clear of a Champions League spot after David Brooks’ 77th-minute volley handed Everton a 1-0 defeat at the Vitality Stadium.
Andoni Iraola’s side were struggling to break down their stubborn but limited opponents when substitute Brooks hit back with a sublime volley over Jordan Pickford’s goal after Milos Kerkez’s pinpoint cross to settle a poor game on the south coast.
With just seven goals conceded at home this season, after that it always looked like it would be enough for the forward-moving hosts, who have now gone on a club-record eight Premier League games without defeat.
Abdoulaye Doucoure thought he had rescued a point for the visitors when he tipped Beto’s knockdown just wide of Mark Travers’ post, but it is now just one win in 11 league games for Sean Dyche’s side.
The result moves Bournemouth to 33 points – three points out of the top four, while Everton remain just two points above the relegation zone in 16th position.
Brooks keeps Cherries’ European dreams on track
Everton failed to get a shot on goal all afternoon. They have now failed to score in 11 of their 19 games, more often than any other team in the Premier League this term.
Their offensive impotence in the first half was characterized by Armando Broja, who rarely opened up the ground and led to the premature dismissal of the Albanian.
Jesper Lindstrom suffered a similar misfortune when his effort was blocked by Broja’s substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin as Everton waited for another goal in open play.
Bournemouth certainly had the better of the opening period with Jordan Pickford denying Justin Kluivert as his high effort fell back to the feet of Antoine Semenya only for the England No.1 to be smarted at his feet.
Dyche was forced into more changes at the break with 17-year-olds Harrison Armstrong and Nathan Patterson introduced as part of a reshuffle, but the pattern of play remained the same with Pickford dropping to his left to prevent another Semeny strike.
Iraola, as so often this campaign, did not panic as Brooks was called on as part of a triple substitution – and with 13 minutes remaining it was his controlled volley from Kerkez’s cross that secured the Cherries their ninth win of the season.
Kerkez breaks through Everton and hits Dyche
Sky Sports Ben Grounds:
When they don’t keep goals, Everton don’t win football matches. This was the case under Dyche for almost his entire reign. A 2-1 win over Crystal Palace, their first of the campaign, was a rare example of his side being able to do things the hard way.
From the moment Brooks eased his volley into the far corner of Pickford’s net, the writing was on the wall. Another trip to the Vitality Stadium, another pointless outing. Everton’s inability to win here in the league predates Dyche, but the failures on display have been consistent with the current player’s shaky reign.
Dyche could prove a job well done in his first full season in charge given the off-field distractions. The noise. But now with a better team and new owners above him, he is feeling the cold in January.
Dyche’s side look more and more like being dragged into the relegation battle as they failed to hit the back of the net in 90 minutes. Now it is one goal scored in the last five matches.
Their inability to trouble their hosts looked almost comical with the ease with which Bournemouth broke through them time and time again, and another assured display made it five wins in eight for Iraola’s side.
The winning goal summed up everything Everton wasn’t. Kerkez sent a finely calibrated cross into the penalty area where he arrived at the perfect height for Brooks to leap into the air and, with the kind of confidence that has been his side’s brilliant season so far, volley past Pickford into the far corner.
It’s easy to see why Jamie Carragher is so keen for the Hungarian to join Liverpool. The 21-year-old once again excelled at left back and if he continues to believe in his abilities, he will have the choice of Europe’s elite clubs. Something that cannot be said for the eight members of Everton’s squad who are currently out of contract in the summer.
General statistics – Bournemouth again on the bench
- Bournemouth have scored more goals through substitutes than any other side in the Premier League this season, and their 10 goals from the bench are also their most in a top-flight campaign.
- Everton have failed to score in 11 different Premier League games this season. That is just one game less than in which they failed to score compared to the whole of last season (12).
- Everton failed to register a single shot on target for the second time in a Premier League game this season, having also done so in a 0-0 draw against Arsenal last month.
- Only three sides (Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City) have had more shots on goal in the Premier League than Bournemouth this season (114). The Cherries’ average of 5.7 shots on goal per game is their highest in a single campaign in the competition.
The story of the match in statistics…
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