Everton won at home for the first time in three months to keep themselves in the hunt for European football with a 2-0 victory over struggling Burnley.
The win over the Clarets by no means guarantees their travails at Hill Dickinson Stadium are over with Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City still to visit but it avoided the unpalatable prospect of failing to profit against the Premier League’s second-bottom side.
James Tarkowski’s first goal – via a routine header – since February 2025 did not come close to matching the one he lashed home in added time for Everton’s final Merseyside derby goal at Goodison Park but it eased the tension.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s sixth of the season, a cool clipped finish past Martin Dubravka on the hour, made him the team’s joint top scorer in the league and essentially ended Burnley’s chances of a comeback.
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The patience of the visiting fans, who have seen their team win just once since October, cracked in the final 20 minutes with chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing” aimed at boss Scott Parker after he replaced Hannibal Mejbri with Josh Laurent.
Burnley remain eight points from safety with a return to the Championship looming but Everton still harbour hopes of sneaking into Europe next season as they moved to within three points of sixth-placed Chelsea.