Abdoulaye Doucoure scored the most important goal of his career and possibly Everton’s history to save the side from relegation with a 1-0 win over Bournemouth.
His powerful 20-yard strike, a bolt from the blue, was enough to extend the club’s top-flight stay to a 70th successive season but for long periods that proud record appeared in doubt.
But Doucoure’s 10th goal for the club capped a remarkable turnaround in four months for the Mali international who was training on his own in January after a fall-out with former manager Frank Lampard.
Five days after having his contract extended by 12 months – and with his side just over half-an-hour from heading into the Sky Bet Championship – he delivered when it mattered most and in a way the club can never adequately repay him for.
But it still required a clearance from Conor Coady under his own crossbar and a good save deep into 10 minutes of added time from Jordan Pickford to keep them safe after it initially looked like the Cherries’ second-choice goalkeeper Mark Travers would play a key role in sending the Toffees down.
The home side had started the most significant day in their 145-year history two points outside the drop zone but with Leicester winning at home to West Ham they were heading for only their third relegation and first since 1951.
Then, their top-flight exile lasted three years and the nightmare scenario was that there had been little to suggest over the last couple of seasons another absence would have been any shorter.
Everton had been in the last-day, last-chance saloon twice before in 1994 and 1998 but on both of those occasions their fate was not in their own hands.
In 1994 they beat Wimbledon 3-2 – coming back from 2-0 down – with rivals Ipswich, Sheffield United and Southampton faring worse and four years later they bettered Bolton’s result at Chelsea to survive.
But the stakes seemed much higher on this occasion, and with a new 52,000-capacity stadium at Bramley-Moore Dock due to open for the 2024-25 season this was potentially the last Premier League game at Goodison Park.
However, they are not out of trouble as the club have posted losses in excess of £430million over the last four years and have an outstanding Premier League charge for breaching profit and sustainability rules.
But for now survival, and the relief that brings, is enough.
With no fit full-backs, Sean Dyche was forced to start for the first time in his tenure with a back three, which at least utilised recognised centre-halves in Yerry Mina, Coady and James Tarkowski.
The men outside of them, however, were midfielder James Garner and winger Dwight McNeil and while the former coped relatively well on the left flank, McNeil, more accustomed to running forward, struggled to cope with David Brooks going the other way.
Up front, winger Demarai Gray found it tough adapting to the central role as, unable to hold up the ball, he resorted to trying to win cheap free-kicks but it was a ploy referee Stuart Atwell regularly saw through.
Gray, who had an early rising drive just over, also found being a striker tough in terms of his positioning as when Doucoure drilled a cross into the six-yard area, he was 10 yards too deep waiting for a cutback on the edge of the box.
Travers, only in the side due to Neto’s absence due to personal reasons, then came to the fore as he tipped over Idrissa Gana Gueye’s powerful strike, parried another long-ranger from the Frenchman and then clawed away Garner’s looping shot in first-half added time.
In recent home games around the half-hour mark, Everton’s initial fire had burned out and opponents claimed the upper hand but on this occasion it was bad news from the King Power Stadium which took some of the wind out of their sails.
Bournemouth looked like they were just biding their time and Marcos Senesi stabbed wide from a corner and Mina dived in to deny Dominic Solanke after Brooks had robbed Tarkowski.
Gray’s weak close-range header being scooped away by Travers six minutes into the second half only increased the sense it was not going to be Everton’s day until Doucoure smashed home a drive after a weak header dropped to him.
Crucial interventions from on-loan Wolves and former Liverpool defender Coady and then Pickford from substitute Matias Vina saw them scrape home and sparked the inevitable pitch invasion after relegation was avoided for the second successive season.
Mauricio Pochettino vows to continue to show belief in Chelsea’s young stars
Mauricio Pochettino promised Chelsea will continue to show belief in their young stars after Mykhailo Mudryk scored his first goal for the club in their 2-0 win against Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Armando Broja, making his first start since injuring his ACL in December, also netted as the visitors gave their most convincing performance yet of the manager’s reign and ended a run of three Premier League games without a goal.
Chelsea took the lead after 18 minutes when Mudryk chested down Levi Colwill’s expertly-flighted cross and nudged the ball past Bernd Leno as the Fulham goalkeeper advanced.
And within a minute it was two, Cole Palmer dispossessing Tim Ream who was careless with the ball at his feet and feeding Broja, who deflected the ball home off Ream’s attempted clearance.
It was a dominant first half from Chelsea with Palmer, making his first Premier League start for the club after impressing in the EFL Cup win against Brighton last week, making a critical difference coming deep to collect the ball and starting the visitors’ attacks.
Ian Maatsen, on at half-time in place of Mudryk, struck a post after the break as Pochettino’s side threatened a third, and it was not until 14 minutes from time that a lacklustre Fulham threatened a response when Robert Sanchez blocked Sasa Lukic’s close-range shot.
Pochettino pointed to the patience the club have shown in waiting for their expensively assembled but young side to come good, particularly Mudryk who finally broke his scoring duck nine months after jointing from Shakhtar Donetsk for £88million.
“The difference (tonight) is the result,” said the manager. “The performance was really good. First half I think we played really well, second half we controlled the game.
“I’m pleased for Mudryk, and for Armando. For Misha because he has scored his first goal in the Premier League and then for Armando, after a long period out he’s scored again. The competition is really good for the team.
“It’s about maturity, adaptation. We need to understand that young people need time, need to settle. Massive change for him when he arrived here. I think when you arrive in a team, it’s not easy to settle because there were too many young players that arrived in a team (that) was not solid.
“They need to add something to the team, to build something important. Always it’s difficult, but it’s about time and to have patience, to trust these guys and these young, talented players, and to build their confidence.
“It’s a massive job. It’s step by step. Sometimes people have not the patience, but for us it’s about being patient. Even when we were losing and when we didn’t win from the beginning of the season, we were calm and kept the belief.
“Now that we’ve won two games in a few days it’s (still) important to stay calm.”
It was the fourth game in a row in which Mudryk had started, having not been in the starting XI for any of Pochettino’s first five matches in charge.
He was withdrawn at half-time with what the manager said was an issue with his quad, but he is expected to be fit for Saturday’s trip to face Burnley.
“He played because he deserved it, and he showed in training that he deserved it,” said the manager. “He was really focused in training and had the confidence to go on the pitch and play.
“Normally it’s the player that needs to show us that we can trust in them.”
Fulham boss Marco Silva reflected on a game in which he felt his team lacked the required aggression as they fell to a third league defeat of the season.
“Disappointing result for us,” he said. “At certain moments, performance-wise as well. They started intense from the first moment, winning some individual challenges that gave the boost they needed.
“Our first half was not aggressive enough on and off the ball. We were sloppy in some moments. We did not bring the dynamic that we should. Even our first pressure didn’t work very well.”
Mykhailo Mudryk and Armando Broja on target as Chelsea beat derby rivals Fulham
Mykhailo Mudryk and Armando Broja were on target as Chelsea claimed west London derby bragging rights with a 2-0 Premier League victory over Fulham at Craven Cottage.
Mudryk opened the scoring before Broja doubled their tally – one minute later – to give the Blues an important three points on the road.
The win brought Chelsea’s three-match winless run in the league to an end and relieved some pressure from the shoulders of Mauricio Pochettino as his side began to turn a corner.
Chelsea started with intent. The visitors enjoyed touches of the ball in dangerous areas and looked positive through the likes of Cole Palmer and Enzo Fernandez, who fed the pacey Mudryk, who blazed over his first attempt in the 10th minute.
But the Ukraine international did not have to be asked twice when he put Chelsea ahead after 18 minutes.
Levi Colwill’s curled pass unleashed the rapid Mudryk, who calmy finished past Bernd Leno to score his first-ever Chelsea goal.
And a minute after the restart, the Blues doubled their lead.
Palmer – who started in his first league game for the away side – pounced on a misplaced pass and slipped through Broja, who found a gap and fired home to give Chelsea a 2-0 advantage.
It was two big chances and two goals for Pochettino’s men, who finally began to show signs of being clinical, having gone three English top-flight games without finding the back of the net.
Fulham were anonymous for much of the first half, but they had a half-chance when the misfiring Raul Jimenez jumped highest at a corner and directed his effort wide of Robert Sanchez’s post in the 41st minute.
Marco Silva brought midweek scorers Carlos Vinicius and Alex Iwobi on at half-time in search of a response and Nigeria international Iwobi started bright when he got on the end of Willian’s cross – but his effort fell kindly into the gloves of goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
And Carlos Vinicius was lucky to avoid red when he appeared to strike Thiago Silva with his hand before he combined with Iwobi on the hour, where he was stopped in his tracks by Chelsea’s tight defence.
The visitors sought a third on the break when Broja and Palmer worked together to find substitute Ian Maatsen. But his first-time effort cannoned off goalkeeper Bernd Leno’s post before Fernandez’s rebound was denied by the German in goal.
Craven Cottage cried for a goal in the 73rd minute as time ebbed away.
Timothy Castagne marauded down the right flank and did well to beat his man before his driven cross found the head of Vinicius, who again failed to test Sanchez.
The Cottagers looked flat all game and were in clear need of an strong outlet up front to challenge Axel Disasi and 39-year-old Thiago Silva, who were making light work of any Fulham attack.
This was summed up in 12 minutes from time when Sasa Lukic missed a golden opportunity from six yards after Willian’s well-weighted pass.
Chelsea continued to nullify any threats from the hosts and held on to seal victory during five added minutes to move up to 11th in the table.
Sir Jim Ratcliffe considering minority stake bid for Manchester United – reports
Sir Jim Ratcliffe is considering changing his bid and buying a minority stake in Manchester United, according to reports.
Ineos founder Ratcliffe, who had attempted to buy Chelsea last year, joined the race to purchase United in January and had been the sole bidder before Sheikh Jassim entered the running a month later.
A lengthy takeover saga has followed with numerous bids entered by both boyhood fan Ratcliffe and Sheikh Jassim, but no progress has been made over any potential change of ownership from the Glazer family, who announced in November they were open to selling the club.
Manchester United’s valuation on the New York Stock Exchange plummeted by more than £500million last month in the wake of reports the Glazers may not sell.
It is now being reported that Ratcliffe, the second-richest person in the UK according to the Sunday Times Rich List, could decide to buy a minority stake in the Premier League giants.
Sky News report Ratcliffe may seek a stake in the region of 25 per cent as part of a proposal to try to bring the drawn-out sale process to an end, having initially wanted to complete a majority takeover.
If the Glazers accepted this new reported offer, it would see the American family still retain majority control of the club they first bought in 2005.
United fans have protested against the Glazers for years and thousands took part in an hour-long sit-in at Old Trafford after a 3-2 win over Nottingham Forest in August.
It has been 18 years since the Americans’ controversial leveraged takeover and over 10 months since they announced a strategic review.
Ratcliffe’s team declined to comment when contacted by the PA news agency.
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