Ashley Young’s unfortunate own goal denied Everton a sixth win in eight matches as Brighton snatched a late 1-1 draw at Goodison Park.
Defender Vitalii Mykolenko looked like being an unlikely match-winner with his first goal in 18 months until Kaoru Mitoma’s cross took a freakish deflection off the Toffees’ other full-back with six minutes remaining.
Having taken the lead, Everton had done a good job of keeping the visitors at bay – assisted by VAR ruling out Lewis Dunk’s equaliser for offside and also a good save by Jordan Pickford to deny the Seagulls captain – and Sean Dyche’s side looked well set for their first back-to-back Premier League wins in 13 months.
It says a lot about how perspectives have changed in the last few weeks that Everton were disappointed with a draw against a team who finished sixth last season, but in the see-saw world of the Premier League the Merseysiders remain upwardly mobile while Brighton manager Roberto De Zerbi is still trying to work out why his team cannot convert possession into points.
The Seagulls’ last top-flight victory on September 24 lifted them to third in the table on 15 points; the same weekend Everton won their first game to move out of the bottom three with four points.
Brighton, who have taken just three points from the last 15 available, enjoyed 90 percent possession in the opening 10 minutes but Everton had already managed three shots on target, two of those from Mykolenko in the attack which led to his goal.
The other was a volley from Abdoulaye Doucoure, fresh from signing a new contract, which was parried by Bart Verbruggen who had replaced Jason Steele in goal as one of five changes.
Mykolenko showed a proficiency in front of goal not seen before as his left-foot strike from Dwight McNeil’s cross was parried by Verbruggen only for the defender to lash home only his second goal for the club with his weaker right foot in the seventh minute.
The Ukraine international last found the net towards the end of his debut season in May 2022.
With the pattern of the game firmly established – Brighton ended the game with 80 percent possession – it was set up for an Everton rearguard action and that played right into their hands, with James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite again excellent against Evan Ferguson, with Mykolenko providing admirable support.
Everton looked to have been breached by Dunk’s brilliant volleyed equaliser at the far post from Pascal Gross’s 15th-minute free-kick only for VAR to intervene as the Seagulls began their long dominance of the ball, although they remained uncharacteristically careless with it and that offered Everton encouragement.
As a result, Dominic Calvert-Lewin found himself in a two-on-two but dragged a shot wide with Doucoure in support, while Joel Veltman’s tangle with McNeil in the penalty area was deemed accidental by referee Tim Robinson.
Joao Pedro’s second-half introduction for Adam Lallana gave Brighton a better option going forward but even then they did not properly threaten, with Pickford’s first genuine save coming in the 55th minute when he tipped over Dunk’s free-kick.
But he could not reach the wickedly dipping ball which sailed over him from Mitoma via Young.
Keane doubts Man Utd will crack top four under Amorim this season
Roy Keane does not believe Manchester United will get back into the Premier League's top four under Ruben Amorim this season due to a "real lack of quality".
The Red Devils legend was speaking after United started life under the Portuguese with a 1-1 draw at Ipswich Town, as Omari Hutchinson cancelled out Marcus Rashford's second-minute opener.
Keane acknowledged Amorim has to be given time to turn things around at Old Trafford, but does not see United cracking the top four this season.
"You have to give the man a chance," Keane told Sky Sports. "But the threat going forward, it's a huge problem for Man Utd. It's not good enough.
"Do I believe they have the quality to get them back to top four? Absolutely not. The evidence is not there. It's the same old stuff. Predictable and a real lack of quality."
United created 0.9 xG compared to Ipswich's 1.75 and had fewer shots on target (four) compared to Ipswich (six) at Portman Road.
They did have more touches in the opposition box (16 to 11) but had fewer final-third entries (48 to 61) and big chances created (two to three).
Ipswich were extremely resilient opponents after their early setback, and Tractor Boys boss Kieran McKenna praised his side, particularly Hutchinson after he grabbed his first Premier League goal.
"I thought he (Hutchinson) was a big threat first half, naturally more a winger, but most teams are going to press us high and in the spaces in the middle of the pitch having a dribbler in the middle of the pitch who's elusive and hard to pick up can be a big threat," he told Sky Sports.
"I think it's his first goal in the Premier League he'll be happy to have that of his back and he's improving."
"The first half, it's a blow to concede the early goal but I thought as the half went on we grew in the ascendancy, and the intensity of pressing and work on the ball.
"I thought we were the dominant team in the first half and deserved to be going in at least level. Second half in fairness, Man Utd had more control. It was difficult, we had to defend with real discipline on shape."
Leganes 0-3 Real Madrid: Mbappe and Bellingham score as Blancos close on Barcelona
Kylian Mbappe and Jude Bellingham were both on target as Real Madrid moved to within four points of LaLiga leaders Barcelona with a 3-0 win at Leganes.
Federico Valverde also scored for Carlo Ancelotti's side, who still have a game in hand on leaders Barca, who were pegged back in a 2-2 draw with Celta Vigo on Saturday.
Mbappe ended a goal drought of over 400 minutes after being teed up by Vinicius Junior shortly before half-time, moments after Leganes had surrendered possession near the edge of their own area.
Madrid dominated possession throughout the second half and doubled their advantage in the 66th minute, Valverde drilling a low effort home from a free-kick won by Bellingham.
Bellingham later got in on the act with a header on the rebound after substitute Brahim Diaz rattled the crossbar, as Madrid cruised to back-to-back league wins.
Data Debrief: Dirty work pays off for Madrid
Mbappe's opener, scored at a vital time shortly before the interval, set Madrid on their way to victory on Sunday.
Eduardo Camavinga and Bellingham both pressed high to help the visitors recover possession in the build-up, and Madrid have now scored five goals resulting from high turnovers in LaLiga this season – the most of any team across Europe's top five leagues.
This was the first time Ancelotti had faced Leganes in LaLiga, and he has now beaten all 28 different opponents he has come up against in the competition.
Napoli 1-0 Roma: Lukaku downs former club on Ranieri's return
Claudio Ranieri's Roma return was spoilt by Romelu Lukaku, whose goal against his old club sealed a 1-0 win for Napoli.
Ranieri was appointed Roma boss over the international break, with the 73-year-old coming out of retirement to take charge of the club for a third time.
Yet it was ex-Roma striker Lukaku who decided Sunday's contest at Stadio Diego Armando Maradona, with his 54th-minute effort sending Antonio Conte's team back to the top of Serie A.
Lukaku was well-placed to convert from Giovanni Di Lorenzo's cutback, bringing up his fifth Serie A goal of the campaign.
Roma, who had just two attempts and managed only 0.07 expected goals (xG) in the first half, woke up after Lukaku's goal, with Artem Dovbyk powering a header off the woodwork from a free-kick minutes later, but the visitors' comeback attempts proved fruitless.
Ranieri's next task is to rally his troops for a Europa League clash with Tottenham on Thursday.
Data Debrief: Ranieri's underwhelming return
There was no sign of an immediate upturn for 12th-place Roma, if they were hoping for a new-coach bounce.
Roma ended the first half with fewer than 70 successful passes (68). It is the first time they have had so few successful passes in the opening half of a league game since 2004-05.
With only three wins to their name in the league, they have won fewer than four matches in their opening 13 Serie A games for the first time since the 1978-79 campaign (also three).
And of course, it had to be Lukaku, who was leading their line last season, that delivered the hammer blow. The Belgium international has been involved in nine goals in Serie A this term (five goals, four assists). Only his former Everton club-mate Ademola Lookman, now a star at Atalanta, has contributed to more goals in the competition (seven goals, four assists).
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