Sean Dyche deepened the relegation worries of his old club Burnley as his return to Turf Moor ended in a 2-0 win for Everton.
Dyche, who twice guided the Clarets to promotion and kept them up against the odds during a decade at the club, promised to show no sentimentality 20 months after his sacking amid their last, unsuccessful, battle against the drop, and first-half goals from Amadou Onana and Michael Keane silenced Turf Moor.
They proved all Everton needed as they won four league games in a row for the first time in three years, their eighth league win of the season already matching last year’s tally as they continue to climb away from trouble. Without their 10-point penalty, Everton would be up to ninth.
Burnley chairman Alan Pace, the man who sacked Dyche in April 2022, failed to welcome Dyche back in his programme notes but the one-time ‘Ginger Mourinho’ is still loved in Burnley, where the Royal Dyche pub proudly bares his name, and he emerged from the tunnel to a standing ovation from all sides.
Vincent Kompany, who brought Burnley back to the Premier League with a 101-point campaign in the Championship, has rebuilt the club in a different image. Having taken four points from their last three games to match the return from the previous 13, Burnley started well, keeping Everton pegged back.
But the results they desperately need are not there to match, and although Dwight McNeil, one of three former Burnley players in the Everton 11, spurned a glorious chance Everton needed only 19 minutes to take the lead.
James Trafford did well to keep out Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s close-range header but Burnley failed to defend the resulting corner and it was all too easy for Onana to get away from Josh Brownhill and power in at the far post.
Jacob Bruun Larsen and Jay Rodriguez both saw shots blocked in the Everton box, and six minutes later it was 2-0 to the visitors.
Jordan Pickford hit a long free-kick forward and James Tarkowski headed it down for another former Claret, Keane, to try his luck from range. Trafford parried, but the ball struck Dara O’Shea and fell kindly for Keane, in for the suspended Jarrad Branthwaite, to sweep home his first goal of the season.
Burnley’s early promise dissipated in a silent Turf Moor. They did threaten again just before half-time but Ben Godfrey, making only his second Premier League appearance of the season, got a vital toe to Vitinho’s cross before Zeki Amdouni.
At half-time Kompany turned to Lyle Foster, the South Africa forward surprisingly named among the substitutes after a recent absence to deal with mental health issues. The 23-year-old replaced Rodriguez to make his first appearance since October 21.
Burnley were better after the break, but only managed to create half-chances. Sander Berge had an early shot blocked before Foster failed to get enough power on his effort.
After Trafford failed to clear a corner and Keane had a close-range shot blocked on the line, Amdouni offered a more direct threat at the other end when he eyed up Pickford’s far post from 25 yards out, forcing the England goalkeeper to stretch and push it wide.
Berge rattled the crossbar in the 79th minute, though his shot from the edge of the box would not have counted with the flag up.
It was that old familiar story for Burnley, who dominated possession and had 14 shots at goal but ended the day empty-handed, stuck on eight points from 17 games and off the bottom of the table on goal difference alone. Boos greeted the final whistle.
Man City could face 'serious' punishment, says expert Maguire
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes if Manchester City are found guilty of breaching the Premier League's financial rules, that it should be reflected in their punishment.
The independent hearing, which started last month, is anticipated to last approximately two months, although the verdict is not expected to be made public until early next year.
If found guilty, the sternest punishment is relegation, while points deductions and fines are also potential penalties.
City have been charged with breaking financial fair play (FFP) rules, with the breaches allegedly going back over a decade.
The Citizens were charged with 54 counts of failing to provide accurate financial information from 2009-10 until 2017-18, while also failing to provide accurate details for player and manager payments from 2009-10 to 2017-18 on 14 separate occasions.
City have been handed five charges related to their inability to comply with UEFA's rules, including FFP from 2013-14 to 2017-18, with another seven charges for breaching the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) rules from 2015-16 until 2017-18.
The final 35 charges are for failing to cooperate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 until February 2023.
City did, however, claim a victory in their recent legal challenge against the Premier League over Associated Party Transaction rules, though that is totally separate to the 115 charges.
Both Everton and Nottingham Forest were deducted points last season for breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.
However, Maguire believes that should City be found guilty on all 115 of their charges, then a possible points deduction should be fair in comparison to what was handed to both Everton and Forest.
"I think the reason why I say that, and again, I've got no inside knowledge of any of this, is that if we take a look at the commission hearings in relation to Nottingham Forest and Everton, one of the revealing things was that one of the commissions had said, I think this was in the case of Forest, ultimately, this is a minor breach of the rules, and this has resulted in what was a four-point deduction," Maguire told Stats Perform.
"As far as Nottingham Forest are concerned, given that that was a minor breach of the rules which covered a narrow period of time and a very specific, narrow set of circumstances, what Manchester City are being accused of is effectively corporate fraud over a nine-year period – they've been lying to the Premier League in relation to their finances.
"Well, that's far more serious than a technical breach of an overspend. So, if it's a four-point deduction for a minor breach, and all 115 charges are upheld, then surely that's a major breach, and that has to be reflected in the deduction."
Since the Abu Dhabi United Group's takeover in 2008, City have spent approximately €2,5987 billion (£2,1649bn), spending the most money in the 2017-18 season (£245.7m) with the most notable signings including Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva, and Ederson.
City's most expensive player during that time was Jack Grealish, who arrived from Aston Villa in a £100m deal - which at the time constituted the most expensive transfer of an English player ever.
Maguire went on to say that should City only be found guilty of failing to cooperate with the Premier League, then a financial sanction seems more likely, as opposed to a points deduction or relegation.
"My one reservation on all of this is that if the only thing that Manchester City are found guilty of is not cooperating with the Premier League, then probably the appropriate punishment is a financial one because they've not had a sporting advantage," Maguire concluded.
"You can argue that bringing in more, artificially inflating the money coming in, and messing around with the wages, has allowed Manchester City to recruit these other players, and on the back of that, they've been successful on the pitch.
"So, we need an on-field punishment if it's just for non-cooperation with the Premier League, and given that the Premier League hasn't cooperated with Manchester City in terms of getting these deals through against this separate hearing, I don't think that a points deduction is appropriate."
Man City's 'lies' could result in 'serious' punishment, says expert Maguire
Football finance expert Kieran Maguire believes if Manchester City are found guilty on all counts of their 115 charges, that it should be reflected in their punishment.
The independent hearing, which started last month, is anticipated to last approximately two months, although the verdict is not expected to be made public until early next year.
If found guilty, the sternest punishment is relegation, while points deductions and fines are also potential penalties.
City have been charged with breaking financial fair play (FFP) rules, which started in 2009 following the Abu Dhabi United Group takeover and went on until 2018.
The Citizens were charged with 54 counts of failing to provide accurate financial information from 2009-10 until 2017-18, while also failing to provide accurate details for player and manager payments from 2009-10 to 2017-18 on 14 separate occasions.
City have been handed five charges related to their inability to comply with UEFA's rules, including FFP from 2013-14 to 2017-18, with another seven charges for breaching the Premier League's Profitability and Sustainability (PSR) rules from 2015-16 until 2017-18.
The final 35 charges are for failing to cooperate with Premier League investigations from December 2018 until February 2023.
City did, however, win their recent legal challenge against the Premier League over Associated Party Transaction rules, though that is totally separate to the 115 charges.
Both Everton and Nottingham Forest were deducted points last season for breaches of the Premier League's financial rules.
The Toffees were deducted 10 points, reduced to six for the three-year period from 2021-22 for losses of £19.5million over the £105m permitted threshold.
Meanwhile, Forest, who were initially docked six points, saw theirs brought down to four after breaching the permitted £61m threshold by £34.5m for the three-year period from 2022-23. Both clubs retained Premier League status last term despite this.
However, Maguire believes that should City be found guilty on all 115 of their charges, then a possible points deduction should be reflected on what was handed to both Everton and Forest.
"I think the reason why I say that, and again, I've got no inside knowledge of any of this, is that if we take a look at the commission hearings in relation to Nottingham Forest and Everton, one of the revealing things was that one of the commissions had said, I think this was in the case of Forest, ultimately, this is a minor breach of the rules, and this has resulted in what was a four-point deduction," Maguire told Stats Perform.
"As far as Nottingham Forest are concerned, given that that was a minor breach of the rules which covered a narrow period of time and a very specific, narrow set of circumstances, what Manchester City are being accused of is effectively corporate fraud over a nine-year period – they've been lying to the Premier League in relation to their finances.
"Well, that's far more serious than a technical breach of an overspend. So, if it's a four-point deduction for a minor breach, and all 115 charges are upheld, then surely that's a major breach, and that has to be reflected in the deduction."
Since the Abu Dhabi United Group's takeover in 2008, City have spent approximately €2,5987 billion (£2,1649bn), spending the most money in the 2017-18 season (£245.7m) with the most notable signings including Aymeric Laporte, Benjamin Mendy, Kyle Walker, Bernardo Silva, and Ederson.
City's most expensive player during that time was Jack Grealish, who arrived from Aston Villa in a £100m deal - which at the time constituted the most expensive transfer of an English player ever.
Maguire went on to say that should City only be found guilty of failing to cooperate with the Premier League, then a financial sanction seems more likely, as opposed to a points deduction or relegation.
"My one reservation on all of this is that if the only thing that Manchester City are found guilty of is not cooperating with the Premier League, then probably the appropriate punishment is a financial one because they've not had a sporting advantage," Maguire concluded.
"You can argue that bringing in more, artificially inflating the money coming in, and messing around with the wages, has allowed Manchester City to recruit these other players, and on the back of that, they've been successful on the pitch.
"So, we need an on-field punishment if it's just for non-cooperation with the Premier League, and given that the Premier League hasn't cooperated with Manchester City in terms of getting these deals through against this separate hearing, I don't think that a points deduction is appropriate."
Saint Martin stun Saint Lucia 4-0 in Group B as Haiti remain perfect in Group C of League B
Haiti extended their unbeaten run with a 5-3 win over Aruba, while Saint Martin stunned Saint Lucia 4-0 as both teams ended the October window on a high in their respective League B Concacaf Nations League groups on Monday.
Keelan Lebon (8th and 45th), Sacha Barakat (26th) and Pierre-Bertrand Arne (62nd) did the damage for Saint Martin at the Darren Sammy Cricket Ground, as they secured their first win of the campaign. Despite the win, Saint Martin remain at the foot of Group B on three points and in danger of being relegated to League C.
Saint Lucia continue to lead the standings on nine points, followed by Curacao (seven points), who edged third-placed Grenada (four points) 1-0 courtesy of Juninho Bacuna’s 30th-minute strike in the curtain-raiser of the double header.
Haiti didn’t have things all their way in an eight-goal thriller against Aruba at the Guillermo Prospero Trinidad Stadium in Oranjestad.
Five different scorers, Danley Jean Jacques (16th), Don Louicius (42nd), Duckens Nazon (66th), Fabrice Picault (76th), and Frantzdy Pierrot (89th), got on the scoresheet for Haiti, who have now netted 18 goals, the most of any team in the Nations League.
They continue to sit pretty atop Group C on maximum 12 points from four games, with a League A promotion well in sight. Aruba, who got their goals from Rovien Ostiana (14th and 20th) and Jayden Kruydenhof (78th), is on the cusp of relegation as they remain pointless.
Earlier, Puerto Rico, through goals from Gerald Diaz (45th) and Ricardo Rivera (83rd), registered a 2-1 win over Sint Maarten in the curtain-raiser.
The win moved Puerto Rico into second on six points, with a slightly better goal-difference to Sint Maarten (six points), whose goal came from Quinton Christina (54th).
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