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.
Odegaard set to miss Spurs and Man City clashes after Norway injury
Martin Odegaard is set to miss three weeks of Premier League action after sustaining an ankle injury on international duty, according to Norway's team doctor.
Odegaard was forced to withdraw from Norway's 2-1 win over Austria in the Nations League on Monday after coming together with Christoph Baumgartner in midfield.
The 25-year-old has since returned to London for further assessment but looks likely to miss the Gunners' important league fixtures against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City.
Mikel Arteta is already without Declan Rice for the north London derby this weekend following his red card against Brighton and Hove Albion.
And while no time frame has been officially confirmed by Arteta, Norway’s team doctor Ola Sand believed Odegaard would need a few weeks to recover.
“Such ankle injuries often take at least three weeks. Anything other than that is just a bonus, and then it can take longer,” Sand told Norwegian newspaper VG.
“What we have so far obtained from the MRI examination in London is that there is probably no fracture in the ankle.
“It is always a bit difficult to interpret an MRI scan when you have had an old injury, but Arsenal are almost certain there is no breach, but this may still take some time.
“In the event of a fracture, we are talking about being out of action for six weeks plus.”
Odegaard would also miss Arsenal's first Champions League fixture away to Atalanta on September 19 as the Gunners look to improve on their quarter-final run in the competition last season.
The Gunners captain is yet to register a goal or an assist this term, but has again proved influential for Arteta, with his five chances created, a total only bettered by Bukayo Saka (eight) in the first three games of the new season.
As well as Arsenal missing Odegaard, Arteta will be sweating on the fitness of summer signing Riccardo Calafiori after he was replaced in Italy's 3-1 win over France last week with a calf injury.
Fellow arrival Mikel Merino is sidelined after sustaining a fractured shoulder, though there could be a return to the side for Gabriel Jesus after recovering from a groin issue.
Vinicius apologises to Brazil supporters after Paraguay defeat
Vinicius Junior apologised to Brazil's supporters following their defeat to Paraguay, acknowledging "it is a difficult time" for the Selecao.
The five-time world champions were beaten 1-0 in Asuncion, with Diego Gomez's 20th-minute strike condemning them to a fourth defeat in five qualifying games.
Dorival Junior's side occupy fifth place in the CONMEBOL section - in which the top six nations automatically qualify for the 2026 World Cup, with the team finishing seventh entering the Inter-confederation play-offs.
Already eight points adrift of leaders Argentina, Brazil are now just one ahead of eighth-place Bolivia, and Vinicius knows he and his team-mates must do better.
"We apologise to the fans, who are always on our side," the Real Madrid forward told Sportv. "But this is a difficult time, we just want to improve.
"I know my potential, I know what I can do for the national team. Of course, it's been a very difficult process, because when you don't have confidence, you don't get goals, you don't get assists and good performances.
"We know the situation we're in, we want to get Brazil out of this situation at any cost, we all have to go home now and start thinking about what we can do to get back to playing well.
"We cannot come here, lose these points and play the way we did. It is a difficult time, we must take on board all the criticism and return as quickly as possible to put Brazil on top."
Meanwhile, Marquinhos believes Brazil are going through a transitional period, and that they are not brimming with belief as a result.
"The coach is still figuring out the best way for us to play and that's reflected in the result," the defender told Brazilian TV Globo. "There are a lot of new players, we are lacking confidence.
"Qualifying isn't easy, it's a difficult time, and we have to know how to manage it. It's a time of transition, we're not feeling confident. We're going to work hard, getting results on the pitch is the best answer."
Jamaica tops Group B after victory over Honduras in CONCACAF Nations League
Jamaica claimed a hard-fought 2-1 victory over Honduras on Tuesday night, propelling them to the top of Group B in League A of the 2024/25 CONCACAF Nations League as the September match window concluded. The win secured Jamaica’s position as the group leader, while Nicaragua now sits in second place after their draw against Cuba.
In a tightly contested match at Estadio Nacional Chelato Uclés in Tegucigalpa, the Reggae Boyz opened the scoring early in the second half when Honduras’ Denil Maldonado inadvertently scored an own goal in the 49th minute after Norman Campbell delivered a dangerous ball into the box.
However, Honduras quickly responded with an equalizer in the 50th minute, as David Ruiz finished from close range. Despite the quick turnaround, Jamaica continued to apply pressure, and in the 76th minute, Michael Antonio scored the match-winning goal from the penalty spot.
The victory puts Jamaica in first place with four points from two matches, giving them the edge in the group standings. Honduras, with one point, drops to third in the group, just one point off the top.
Elsewhere in the group, Cuba and Nicaragua played to a dramatic 1-1 draw at Estadio Antonio Maceo in Santiago de Cuba. After dominating much of the first half, Cuba took the lead in the 42nd minute through a penalty converted by Karel Espino. The hosts came close to extending their lead in stoppage time, but Karel Pérez’s strike narrowly missed the far post.
Nicaragua, however, found a late equalizer in the 90th+7 minute, with Widman Talavera salvaging a point for his team. The result keeps Nicaragua level with Jamaica on four points but in second place due to tiebreakers. Cuba, with two points from consecutive draws, sits in third place.
In the final Group B matchup of the evening, Trinidad and Tobago and French Guiana played to a scoreless draw at Dwight Yorke Stadium in Scarborough, Trinidad and Tobago. Both teams created chances throughout the game, with Loïc Ball forcing a save from Trinidad and Tobago goalkeeper Denzil Smith in the 27th minute, while Daniel Phillips hit the woodwork with a long-range strike in the 39th minute for the hosts.
Despite the opportunities, neither team managed to score, with both goalkeepers recording clean sheets. The result gave French Guiana their second point of the campaign, while Trinidad and Tobago secured their first point.
As the September match window concluded, Jamaica leads Group B, with Nicaragua close behind in second place. Honduras, Cuba, French Guiana, and Trinidad and Tobago round out the group, as all teams look to improve their standings in the next round of matches.
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