Gueye and Lukaku on target as Everton down miserable Sunderland
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ByEurosport
Updated 25/02/2017 at 19:32 GMT
Premier League, Goodison Park - Everton 2 (Gueye 40, Lukaku 80) Sunderland 0
Romelu Lukaku celebrates scoring their second goal with Seamus Coleman
Image credit: Reuters
Everton piled the pressure on former manager David Moyes on his return to Goodison Park as the Toffees recorded a 2-0 triumph over his rock bottom Sunderland side.
Gana Gueye’s first goal in the Premier League broke the deadlock five minutes before the half-time interval and Romelu Lukaku added a second on 80 minutes as Ronald Koeman’s side extended their unbeaten run to nine games.
The hosts dominated the first period and took a well deserved lead on 40 minutes when Gueye opened his account after hammering home Seamus Coleman’s cross. Tom Davies may have put Everton out of sight but he was denied by the post on the stroke of half-time.
Sunderland’s top goal-scorer Jermain Defoe was largely starved of service throughout but the 34-year-old squandered his only chance when he struck the woodwork.
The England international was left to rue that missed opportunity when Lukaku grabbed his 60th goal of his Everton career to equal Duncan Ferguson’s all-time club record only moments later.
It all means Everton are now four points behind sixth placed Manchester United who have a game in hand while Sunderland remain bottom of the table.
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Everton's Idrissa Gueye and James McCarthy celebrate after the game
Image credit: Reuters
TALKING POINT - A game of fine margins
When space opened up for Jermain Defoe inside the Everton area you’d have put your house on him levelling the scores. Unfortunately for Sunderland, their trustworthy striker blew the chance and Romelu Lukaku showed his counterpart how it should be done when Everton immediately went up the other end and put the game to bed.
This was far from a classic performance from the Toffees but with players like Lukaku and Seamus Coleman in such deadly form the hosts didn’t need to get out of second gear to overcome a Sunderland side staring relegation straight in the face.
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Sunderland's Jermain Defoe looks dejected
Image credit: Reuters
MAN OF THE MATCH
Seamus Coleman (Everton): Is there a better full-back in the Premier League? The Irish international’s positional sense and delivery is second-to-none and it was his cross that provided Everton’s opener.
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Everton's Seamus Coleman in action with Sunderland's Bryan Oviedo
Image credit: Reuters
PLAYER RATINGS
Everton: Joel 6, Coleman 8, Williams 6, Funes Mori 6, Baines 7, Gueye 7, Schneiderlin 8, Davies 8, Lookman 7, Barkley 7, Lukaku 8. Subs: Mirallas 6, McCarthy 6, Valencia 6.
Sunderland: Pickford 7, Jones 7, Oviedo 6, Kone 6, O'Shea 7, Gibson 5, Ndong 6, Larsson 5, Borini 6, Januzaj 5, Defoe 5. Subs: Mika, Manquillo N/.A, Honeyman 5, Khazri 5.
KEY MOMENTS
40’ - GOAL! Everton have the breakthrough and it's a really nice team goal from the Toffees. Davies picks out Coleman behind the Sunderland defence, the full-back finds Gueye unmarked in the penalty area and the midfielder smashes it into the net with a first time effort.
45’ – CHANCE! Sunderland are a mess at the moment and Defoe concedes another cheap free-kick which Davies strikes the post from. Everton could well be ahead 2-0.
78’ - POST! Defoe, so often starved of service today, is played through, he picks his spot but is denied by the post. That was Sunderland’s big chance...
80’ - GOAL! Everton have their second. Who else? Simply devastating from Lukaku who races clear and applies the finish past Pickford. Game over. It’s a game of fine margins as Defoe continues to rue his missed chance moments earlier.
87’ - CHANCE! Valencia has the chance to completely kill the game off as he runs through on goal but Pickford does well to narrow the angle and makes the save. A solid return for the young goalkeeper.
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Tom Davies in action with Sunderland's Darron Gibson
Image credit: Reuters
KEY STATS
- Romelu Lukaku is now Everton’s joint-highest goalscorer in the Premier League (level with Duncan Ferguson).
- Sunderland are yet to name an unchanged starting XI in any of their 26 Premier League matches so far in 2016-17.
- Romelu Lukaku has scored eight times in the Premier League against Sunderland, against no side has he scored more.
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