Everton manager Sean Dyche admits his change in tactics to “win ugly” paid off as a 1-0 victory over 10-man Burnley eased some of their relegation worries.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who ended his six-month wait for a goal with the equaliser at Newcastle in the week, charged down Arijanet Muric’s clearance seconds before the end of the first half for the only goal and a first league win since December.

Luton’s victory over Bournemouth means Dyche’s side remain only four points above the drop zone but they have put another club – Brentford – between them.

“Important and welcome,” was his assessment of the result.

“We looked at the idea of how well we had played this season and not won so we deliberately tried to play it long and strong and play the game as awkward and ugly as possible and get an an ugly win and it worked.

“We gave the ball away too cheaply but there is a nervousness when you have been on a run like that. That stops the storyline and we have to build on that.

“But the winning mentality is important and I think it was on show today to make sure we found a win.”

The three points were even more vital with the ruling of a second independent commission into profitability and sustainability breaches – for which they have already been docked six points this season – expected next week.

“You are trying to control the controllables,” Dyche added.

“We’ve had another step forward to change that today, I’m not saying we have every answer but it is a very important victory I think that’s another step forward in the mentality to take the rest of the season on.”

Clarets defender Dara O’Shea was sent off in the 67th minute after bringing down Dwight McNeil just over the halfway line and boss Vincent Kompany felt referee Michael Oliver’s decision was harsh at best.

“The letter of the law says he should have been denying a goalscoring opportunity to be sent off and I’ll let you guys make your judgement on that.

“There was a lot of force on the ball and it would be a comfortable pick up for the goalkeeper.”

Defeat left 19th-placed Burnley six points from safety but Kompany refused to blame his goalkeeper.

“He has to keep going. It is part of being a professional footballer. We all live with the mistakes we make, it happens for everyone in life and in football it is no different,” he added.

“Our momentum collapsed twice through moments of our own doing. But I can’t for one second criticise the effort of the team and the idea to come here and play like this.”

Everton secured a first Premier League win since December over 10-man Burnley to boost their survival hopes and deal a hammer blow to the struggling Clarets.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s luck appears to have finally changed as his goal gave Sean Dyche’s side a first win in 14 league matches.

The forward, who ended his six-month wait for a goal with the equaliser at Newcastle in the week, charged down Arijanet Muric’s clearance seconds before the end of the first half and saw the ball loop into an empty net for a 1-0 victory.

Rejuvenated by goals in back-to-back matches for the first time since September, the 27-year-old appeared to shift up a gear and had a couple more chances either side of Dara O’Shea’s straight red card for a lunge on Dwight McNeil.

But one goal was enough to prevent an equalling of a club-record 14 league matches without a win dating back to 1937, moving them up to 15th but still only four points above 18th-placed Luton after the Hatters’ win against Bournemouth.

It was crucial timing with the outcome of a second independent commission into profitability and sustainability breaches – for which they have already been docked six points – expected next week.

However, for second-bottom Burnley, themselves with just one win in 15, this was a first defeat in five and left them six points from safety.

Everton made four changes, including both central midfielders, with Idrissa Gana Gueye absent as his wife gave birth overnight and Amadou Onana complaining of soreness after training.

More significantly, Calvert-Lewin was restored to the team and it was him sensing half an opportunity which brought the goal – and much relief – 10 seconds from the end of what was a turgid first half.

Muric, who had not had to face a shot on target, inexplicably delayed far too long from Maxime Esteve’s square backpass and Calvert-Lewin made enough ground to be able to charge down the clearance with maximum reward.

It was the stroke of luck which he had been searching for since October and came hot on the heels of the penalty which ended his drought on Tuesday at St James’ Park.

For Burnley it was moment of self-sabotage as they had edged the first 45 minutes with Jacob Bruun Larsen sending a free-kick just over and David Fofana heading into the arms of Jordan Pickford.

A possibly tactical showing of the afternoon’s scores, just as Luton went behind, 10 minutes into the second half gave home fans a lift but they were not the only ones recharged as Calvert-Lewin nutmegged O’Shea and forced Muric to save with an outstretched foot at his near post after Lorenz Assignon had given away possession.

Abdoulaye Doucoure headed over Ashley Young’s cross as Everton sensed their chance to put daylight between themselves and the relegation zone and the dismissal of O’Shea helped their cause.

The Burnley defender mis-controlled a pass from fellow centre-back Esteve and in trying to rectify the situation lunged at McNeil on the halfway line and referee Michael Oliver immediately brandished what seemed a harsh red card.

Sander Berge’s challenge on Calvert-Lewin’s replacement Beto looked more like a red card on the edge of the area as the striker bore down on goal but Oliver was not interested.

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany has been charged with misconduct by the Football Association following his side’s 2-2 draw with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.

Tempers flared after referee Darren England awarded a penalty to the Blues in the 40th minute for Lorenz Assignon’s foul on Mykhailo Mudryk. The Burnley defender was also shown a second yellow card, forcing the Clarets to play the second half with 10 men.

Kompany was sent off for protesting on the touchline and afterwards expressed his opinion that officials have not been good enough throughout the season.

“I’ll keep saying what I think,” Kompany said.

“I’m not shying away from it and I’ve said it to the referees themselves, the officials, refereeing hasn’t been good enough this season.

“And I have said that in, I think, a constructive way, understanding as well the fact it’s not easy for them. The scrutiny is massive, the pressure is bigger than it’s ever been on the officials.

“I think the addition of VAR and more opinions and more officials doesn’t make it easy for them to do their jobs.

“I haven’t got any issues with being fined. I just want it to be right.”

The FA announced on Wednesday that the Burnley boss has been charged with improper conduct.

A statement read: “It is alleged that the manager’s language and/or behaviour around the 40th minute was improper and/or abusive and/or insulting towards a match official and/or questioned their integrity.”

Kompany has until 6pm on Friday, April 5 to respond to the charge.

Vincent Kompany has promised his Burnley team will fight until the end in their battle against relegation and believes there is still more to come from his players this season.

The Clarets extended their unbeaten run to four games but could not earn what might have been a crucial win as they were held to a 1-1 draw at home to Wolves on Tuesday night, with Rayan Ait-Nouri cancelling out Jacob Bruun Larsen’s fine volley.

The gap to safety grew to six points with seven games left to play, but with a trip to fellow strugglers Everton up next on Saturday, Kompany will keep believing.

“I’m fairly confident our team is a team of improvement, we can get better and I want them to continue doing that,” Kompany said.

“It’s not surprising at all that we are where we are but, OK, that’s in the past. It’s what the next game brings. Start the game with confidence we can do something.

“I don’t conceive a moment this season where we won’t keep fighting.”

For Wolves, the draw moved them on to 42 points, surpassing last season’s total with eight games left to play.

They sit three points behind seventh-placed West Ham with a game in hand, and two points behind Newcastle having played the same number.

In a season which began with questions over whether or not they had the resources to compete, earning European football for next campaign remains a very realistic target despite a recent glut of injuries.

“There’s never been a top-seven focus, just finish as high as we can,” Gary O’Neil said. “I would love us to finish in the top seven, the lads would love to finish in the top seven and they’re pushing as hard as they can.

“Obviously it has just been made more difficult but that doesn’t mean we can’t achieve it.”

Wolves have been particularly depleted in attack, lately relying on the goals of usual left-back Ait-Nouri, who scored for the third time in four games.

Teenage striker Leon Chiwome led the line at Turf Moor in only his second Premier League appearance, and although Matheus Cunha came off the bench to make his first appearance since mid-February the likes of Pedro Neto, Hee Chan Hwang, and Jean-Ricner Bellegarde remain out.

O’Neil said he had seen such problems coming during the January window because of the amount he was asking of the club’s small squad, but financial constraints meant they could do nothing to mitigate the situation.

“We are missing some very good players which makes it difficult to get results in the Premier League,” he said.

“It’s a tough situation and a bit of me is disappointed that we got into such an unbelievable position and then the injuries have caught up with us.

“We told the club in January that we were overloading the players – I felt our injury record would get worse and that we could suffer a couple of injuries in the top line that would make a huge difference.

“We had a Premier League number nine lined up and a small amount of money stopped us doing it. You can see why the club’s aim was to stay in the Premier League.

“I’m trying to pick a starting eleven from about 12 outfield players – I doubt there’s another club who are like that. Unbelievable credit to the lads in there. It’s a special group.”

Burnley manager Vincent Kompany was left to rue another refereeing decision after his relegation-battling side were held to a 1-1 draw by Wolves.

A day after Kompany said refereeing standards in the Premier League this season have “not been good enough”, the Belgian disputed Thomas Bramall’s decision to award Wolves the free-kick from which Rayan Ait-Nouri cancelled out Jacob Bruun Larsen’s goal deep into first half stoppage time.

Ait-Nouri went down under a challenge from Dara O’Shea, but Kompany said there had been no contact between the two.

“Don’t get me on referees again!” Kompany said.

“But if we have to, of course, it was an issue. If you do a pirouette and you fall on your own, absolutely no contact made, then it’s just not a foul, I think we can all agree on this.

“But then as well the referee is in the best position ever, a really good position, he sees it, I can see it from three times as far as he is and for some reason there’s a decision made out of nothing.

“Then I look at my own team, and how we defend the set-play, that’s always the case, but yes, it’s a repeat and it doesn’t make it any easier.”

The draw extended Burnley’s unbeaten run to four games, but the gap to safety grew to six points as Nottingham Forest beat Fulham 3-1.

Burnley were on top for much of the game, but could not make their dominance pay. However, Kompany saw it as a point gained rather than two lost.

“We played in every sense how we were supposed to,” he said.

“We were aggressive, we were on the front foot, we created chances. I feel at every level it was a good performance. I’ll take the point and we go again.

“I can only praise the players. They looked like a Premier League team today. It doesn’t buy us any points or get us any higher in the league. Perhaps we belong a little bit higher if it hadn’t been for so many bad decisions.

“Right now we’ve not earned the right to remain in the Premier League. All we need is a fighting chance, that’s all. It was never going to be an easy season, it’s not surprising we are where we are but what I can guarantee you is that until the very last moment we will keep fighting.”

Wolves boss Gary O’Neil called the draw a “fair result” as his injury-hit side had to dig in to earn a point that takes them to 42 for the campaign, surpassing last season’s total.

Ait-Nouri’s header was his third goal in four for Wolves as he plays in a more advanced role while several forwards have been out injured.

Although the Algerian squandered a superb chance in the second half when played in one-on-one, O’Neil is grateful for his goal-scoring form.

“He’s doing unbelievably well with the changes and the different areas we’re asking him to pop up in,” he said.

“Not very often but occasionally he looks like a left-back, unfortunately those two times have been when he’s six yards with just the goalkeeper to beat, but an unbelievable performance from him again.

“Burnley would have fancied this. Wolves coming with no Pedro Neto, no Matheus Cunha, no (Hee Chan) Hwang, no (Jean-Ricner) Bellegarde, no (Craig) Dawson, Burnley would have seen this as a game they could go and try and win, definitely.

“And the lads didn’t look like a team that had reached 41 points and were happy to settle. I thought they fought, worked, showed moments of quality. I’m really proud of what they produced and the situation is looking brighter.”

Rayan Ait-Nouri’s third goal in four games earned Wolves a 1-1 draw at relegation-battling Burnley.

Jacob Bruun Larsen volleyed in a fine goal for the hosts in the 37th minute but Ait-Nouri levelled deep into first-half stoppage time and Burnley’s late push for a winner came to nothing.

The Clarets extended their unbeaten run to four games but Nottingham Forest’s 3-1 win over Fulham saw the gap to safety grow to six points with seven games left while Wolves remain in touch with the battle for European places.

Burnley were once again playing some encouraging stuff in the opening stages as Wilson Odobert found space between the lines and they launched a number of runs into the Wolves box but without finding a way to threaten Jose Sa’s goal.

Wolves’ threat came mostly on the break and when Nelson Semedo burst forward down the right he rolled the ball back for Ait-Nouri on the edge of the box but a poor touch from the Algerian allowed Vitinho to steal the ball away.

As Burnley fans in one block of the Jimmy McIlroy stand behind Aro Muric’s goal were being evacuated due to a strip of metal left hanging from the roof, Joao Gomes headed just wide of the target and towards the newly-emptied seats.

But Burnley were quickly back on the front foot and Lyle Foster slipped the ball for Vitinho to run at goal but his shot was too close to Sa.

However, the Portuguese goalkeeper could do nothing about Larsen’s strike as the on-loan Hoffenheim man met Dara O’Shea’s ball from deep on the volley to sweep it into the far corner.

Wolves’ 18-year-old striker Leon Chiwome, making only his second Premier League appearance, fired wide after a scramble in the area but the visitors did not have an effort on goal until equalising three minutes into stoppage time.

Burnley were upset by a soft free-kick decision against O’Shea, then failed to deal with the consequences as Pablo Sarabia’s cross was headed in by Ait-Nouri, with the goal surviving a VAR check.

Ait-Nouri might have had a second eight minutes into the second half when he latched on to a fine ball from Matt Doherty and beat Maxime Esteve to go clean through on goal but Muric stood firm to block the Algerian’s strike.

Burnley responded with one of their best moves of the game.

Foster laid the ball off for the advancing Vitinho on the right and he pulled the ball back for Josh Cullen in front of goal but Sa repelled the midfielder’s low shot.

Odobert then tested the goalkeeper with a powerful shot when a loose ball fell to him in the area.

Matheus Cunha came off the bench to make his first Wolves appearance since mid-February following a hamstring injury while Vincent Kompany sent on Jay Rodriguez as Burnley tried to find a winner.

The veteran striker did have the ball in the net in the 87th minute but the flag was up for offside and the points were shared.

Burnley boss Vincent Kompany has said the standard of refereeing in the Premier League “hasn’t been good enough” this season.

Kompany was sent off during Saturday’s 2-2 draw away to Chelsea for his protests against a penalty decision which also led to defender Lorenz Assignon seeing red, the latest in a string of incidents Kompany believes have gone against the relegation-battling Clarets.

Kompany said he spoke to referee Darren England after Saturday’s match to apologise for his choice of words at the time, and he has also had a number of discussions with referees’ chief Howard Webb, but on Monday he was clear he felt standards have dropped this term.

“I’ll keep saying what I think,” Kompany said. “I’m not shying away from it and I’ve said it to the referees themselves, the officials, refereeing hasn’t been good enough this season.

“And I have said that in, I think, a constructive way, understanding as well the fact it’s not easy for them. The scrutiny is massive, the pressure is bigger than it’s ever been on the officials.

“I think the addition of VAR and more opinions and more officials doesn’t make it easy for them to do their jobs.”

Kompany, who had 11 seasons as a player for Manchester City, said he had always regarded English refereeing as the best in the world, but this season’s experience has raised questions.

“I felt common sense was always trying to be applied,” he added. “You make a mistake and we all have a laugh about it and usually the traditional view is that it all evens itself out over the course of a season.

“This year, I haven’t felt like this. Where we are in the league doesn’t really matter for me, it’s not in that conversation.

“I’m not afraid to say it. I saw the interview of my colleague, (Sheffield United manager) Chris Wilder, that I’m fond of and that I really respect, and he said he’s a hard-working Yorkshireman, he doesn’t want to be fined anymore.

“I haven’t got any issues with being fined. I just want it to be right. It’s not something I say in a vindictive way, you can see I’m not even as angry anymore. We’ve just got to get it right and at this moment in time, it’s fallen short.”

Despite playing more than half of Saturday’s match a man down at Stamford Bridge, Burnley twice came from behind to earn a point, and might even have won it late on.

Having taken five points from their last three games, Burnley go into Tuesday’s match against Wolves with renewed hope they could yet pull off a great escape, sitting four points from safety with eight games to go.

“All we’re asking is to have an opportunity,” Kompany said. “If between now and the end of the season, we have just one opportunity, that’s enough for us. It’s trying to bring ourselves into a position where we give ourselves a chance…

“It’s difficult to go through the season we’ve gone through and at the end to still be a team, to still be a team as players, as a staff. But I think that’s who we are.

“Whatever happens in the next eight games, whether we win all eight of them or lose all eight of them, that is not going to change and that’s going to be the foundation of next season as well.”

Mauricio Pochettino conceded Chelsea are missing something after they failed to defeat 10-man Burnley in what he reflected had been a “must-win” game at Stamford Bridge, which ended 2-2.

Cole Palmer’s goal, drilled into the bottom corner from Raheem Sterling’s delightful flick with 12 minutes to play, looked to have nicked it for the hosts, restoring the lead after Josh Cullen had whacked Burnley level on the volley early in the second half.

Palmer had earlier given Chelsea the lead from the penalty spot, converting after Lorenz Assignon had fouled Mykhailo Mudryk and been shown a second yellow card, whilst a furious Vincent Kompany was also dismissed from the touchline for remonstrating.

But Pochettino was left to rue another frustrating result when, minutes after Palmer had made it 2-1, Dara O’Shea got forward from a corner, evaded everybody in blue inside the box and headed the ball through the clumsy grasp of goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic to salvage the visitors a point.

“Today we didn’t show the capacity, the energy, the hunger,” said Pochettino. “Not the minimum to compete in the Premier League. In defensive phases, we concede too much.

“That is why I’m so upset and disappointed. It’s more here (in the heart) and here (in the head) than in your legs. It’s about being strong like a group, strong like a team.

“We are too slow evolving in this area. That was the key today. The team played well, we had energy. When we have the ball, we go forwards.

“But when we didn’t have the ball, we don’t have the same energy. Today, sorry, I am not happy with the performance when we don’t have the ball.

“It’s difficult to accept not to win. It was a must-win game to be in a position to attack (the table).”

At five games, Chelsea’s unbeaten league run is now the longest they have enjoyed in almost 18 months, but there was little positive cheer shown by fans at the end towards Pochettino and his players.

In failing to beat the Premier League’s second-bottom side, they lost further ground in what looks an increasingly doomed bid to qualify for Europe via their league placing.

Pochettino felt that his team’s problems in turning performances into points ultimately had a psychological root.

“(The players) need to realise that competing is different to playing football,” he said. “We can be there and play, but we need to increase our level.

“It’s not about blaming the players. Maybe we (the coaching staff) need to be tougher with them.

“We need to be more ruthless, find better communication, be more competitive.

“We are missing something. That’s why we are where we are. When we don’t have the ball we need to increase our capacity to recover it.”

Burnley’s assistant manager Craig Bellamy reflected on a performance of which the travelling supporters could be proud.

“To be able to show the patience they showed, working together, the organisation, the commitment, you couldn’t be nothing short of proud watching it,” he said.

Chelsea were held to a 2-2 draw by Burnley at Stamford Bridge as Vincent Kompany’s side twice came from behind with 10 men to frustrate the hosts.

At five league games it became Chelsea’s longest unbeaten run in the league in almost 18 months, but there was little good cheer directed towards Mauricio Pochettino and his players by fans at the final whistle, after they saw Dara O’Shea snatch a point for Burnley late on.

Cole Palmer had earlier scored twice, the first a penalty after defender Lorenz Assignon had been dismissed for fouling Mykhailo Mudryk, then making it 2-1 after being set up by a delightful flick from the under-fire Raheem Sterling.

In between, Josh Cullen volleyed Burnley level against the run of play early in the second half, as their top-flight survival bid received an unlikely boost.

The first opportunity had been Burnley’s. A long ball up from halfway drifted over the head of Benoit Badiashile and was lashed across goal and wide by Jacob Bruun Larsen.

Next to go close was Enzo Fernandez. His shot from the edge of the box took a wicked deflection towards the top corner, before being brilliantly turned onto the crossbar and behind by Arijanet Muric.

It was a bright Chelsea opening, Palmer and Conor Gallagher readily a threat when linking up whilst Mudryk, fresh from scoring the goal that sent Ukraine to Euro 2024, showed speed and tricky footwork rampaging down the left.

Yet Burnley were not blunt. Wilson Odobert drew a fine, flying save from goalkeeper Djordje Petrovic, finding space to fire from range after stepping inside Malo Gusto, who allowed him past too easily.

Nicolas Jackson too might have done better when he raced on to Palmer’s incisive through-ball, danced round two defenders and aimed for the corner, again though Muric saved.

Axel Disasi thought he had given Chelsea the lead midway through the first half, turning the ball in at the far post from Mudryk’s cross, only for VAR to rule it had gone in off the defender’s arm.

Mudryk fired straight at Muric after being teed up by Jackson jinking in off the right, as Chelsea’s shot count rose to 12 inside the opening 35 minutes.

The sense that Burnley were clinging on grew, and shortly before half-time their task was made exponentially harder.

Assignon initially looked to have Mudryk under control as the pair raced to reach the ball in the left channel. Mudryk stepped across him, and Assignon heaved him away and to the ground with a raised arm at neck height.

In the chaos that followed, the defender was shown a second yellow card, the fulminating Kompany too saw red, leaving Burnley a man down and with their manager banished from the touchline. With his impudent penalty, Palmer added insult to injury to give Chelsea the lead.

It was richly deserved, and so Burnley’s equaliser immediately after the break stunned the home crowd. Cullen played a one-two with Josh Brownhill 25 yards out, receiving it back and crashing an instinctive volley beyond Petrovic with the second half barely two minutes old.

The visitors would have been ahead had Petrovic not saved brilliantly one-handed from Odobert’s close-range header, then at the other end Muric was again Burnley’s saviour, beating away Jackson’s low first-time drive.

Home fans were contemplating another frustrating result when Sterling, on for Moises Caicedo, diverted the ball beautifully into the feet of Palmer with a devilish flick, and Chelsea’s top scorer crashed it into the bottom corner to restore the lead.

It lasted under three minutes. At once Burnley were up the other end winning a corner, and from it nobody in blue followed O’Shea as he ran across four defenders and headed the ball through Petrovic’s fumbled grasp to level.

Sterling should have won it when he burst onto Palmer’s far-post cross but inexplicably nodded wide, before Jay Rodriguez headed against the crossbar in the 88th minute as Burnley threatened the improbable.

Vincent Kompany stressed Burnley have “total belief” after his relegation-threatened side beat 10-man Brentford 2-1 at Turf Moor for their first win in 11 Premier League games.

The Clarets took the lead through a 10th-minute Jacob Bruun Larsen penalty awarded for a foul on Vitinho by Sergio Reguilon, who received a straight red card.

David Datro Fofana, having been guilty of a remarkable miss late in the first half, then doubled the advantage with a finish just past the hour mark.

A nervy finale for the hosts saw Kristoffer Ajer score a header for Brentford and a stoppage-time Shandon Baptiste effort ruled out due to Ivan Toney fouling goalkeeper Arijanet Muric.

However, Burnley held out for a first victory of 2024 – and only their fourth in the league this term – to leave an eight-point gap between them and safety with nine games left to play.

Boss Kompany said in his post-match press conference: “It feels great and I think we have to celebrate.

“It’s a day where we won, we got the three points and I think the way we’ll handle this is we’ll really enjoy this moment today and then tomorrow we go back to work.

“The team started hard from the beginning, we were on the front foot, we created situations that forced mistakes from the opponent, we won duels, we were aggressive and then after that I think for large spells we did exactly what we have to do against 10 men. We scored the second goal, probably there’s a couple of goals I still don’t know how we missed it, but OK.

“And then after that I think it’s just like a team when you’ve not been winning, sometimes it becomes a little bit more difficult at the end of games to keep the result, but we did exactly what we had to do in terms of showing grit at times.

“There’s never been a lack of belief. For us, we have total belief, full belief.”

When asked how he would celebrate, the former Manchester City captain said: “It will have to be spontaneous, I didn’t really plan for it just yet. But I’ve celebrated a few times in my life, so I’m sure I’ll get the hang of it again!

“To bring up that energy through the week (after last week being held 2-2 at West Ham due to a stoppage-time Danny Ings equaliser), to start the game like we did, I think then at the end you earn the right to celebrate when you win.”

Brentford boss Thomas Frank, whose side are winless in six and 15th in the table, four points above the drop zone, had no complaints about the officials’ decisions to give the penalty, send off Reguilon, or disallow the stoppage-time effort.

However, he was unhappy no spot-kick was given to the Bees after Fofana tangled with Mathias Jorgensen early in the second half, an incident he described as a “murder in the box.”

Frank said: “There’s a clear penalty, how the referee (Darren Bond) and the VAR cannot see that, it’s incredible.

“That would have changed the game. It is a 100 per cent clear penalty, especially when they speak about you can’t hold, grab players. That was a murder in the box.”

Kompany viewed the situation differently, saying: “No chance (it should have been a penalty) – and with the way it’s gone this year, I’m even more convinced in saying it.”

Frank said he was “very, very proud” of his players, adding: “What an effort, what a mentality, basically playing the whole match with 10 players – we were very close to getting a point.”

Burnley registered their first win in 11 Premier League games as Vincent Kompany’s relegation-threatened side defeated 10-man Brentford 2-1 at Turf Moor.

The Clarets took the lead through a 10th-minute Jacob Bruun Larsen penalty given after a foul on Vitinho by Sergio Reguilon, who received a straight red card.

David Datro Fofana, having been guilty of a remarkable miss late in the first half, then doubled the advantage with a finish just past the hour mark.

Kristoffer Ajer pulled a goal back for Brentford with eight minutes of normal time to go but Burnley were able to see out what was their first victory of 2024, and only their fourth in the league this season.

Boss Kompany had emphasised pre-match that he had not given up hope of avoiding relegation and after ending their winless run, the gap between second-bottom Burnley and safety stands at eight points with nine games left to play.

Fifteenth-placed Brentford, meanwhile, are four points above the drop zone as their own sequence without victory extended to a sixth match.

Kompany made one change from last weekend’s 2-2 draw at West Ham, opting to drop goalkeeper James Trafford – previously an ever-present in the league this season – and bring Arijanet Muric into the team for his Premier League debut.

One of those coming into Brentford’s starting line-up as boss Thomas Frank made two adjustments from the 2-1 loss at Arsenal was the fit-again Reguilon, whose return proved extremely short-lived.

An early Burnley attack saw Josh Cullen swing the ball into the box, where Vitinho went to ground following contact from behind from the on-loan Tottenham defender.

VAR intervened and after referee Darren Bond had watched the incident back pitchside, a penalty was awarded, Reguilon was given his marching orders and Bruun Larsen coolly sent the spot-kick past Mark Flekken.

Ivan Toney headed over as Brentford looked to hit back, and Burnley then breathed a sigh of relief when Dara O’Shea misjudged an attempted pass back to Muric and the goalkeeper slid to clear the ball off the line with his boot, then saved Toney’s follow-up effort.

At the other end Fofana somehow missed when looking certain to score from close range having been teed up by Lorenz Assignon’s cutback.

Muric then produced a fine save to deny Yoane Wissa, before Fofana, having lurked behind Flekken as he prepared to take a kick, emerged to nick the ball, only to be thwarted by the Dutchman as he tried to take it past him.

After Charlie Taylor put a shot over the Brentford bar early in the second half, Fofana was then able to redeem himself in the 62nd minute as he was played in by Wilson Odobert and slotted past Flekken.

Burnley’s push for more included Zeki Amdouni’s shot being held by Flekken, before their lead was halved by Ajer heading in a cross from Shandon Baptiste.

The Clarets had been 2-0 up against West Ham only to be held 2-2 and fans may have been fearing a repeat as Muric kept out a Keane Lewis-Potter header.

A lengthy period of stoppage time – in which replacement Amdouni was substituted himself – then saw the ball in the Burnley net but no goal given with Toney being penalised for a challenge on Muric, before the final whistle confirmed three points for the hosts.

Burnley kept their faint Premier League survival hopes alive with a 2-1 victory over Brentford at Turf Moor.

Brentford had to play most of the match with 10 men after Sergio Reguilon was sent off with just nine minutes on the clock for a push on Vitinho inside the penalty area.

Following the fastest red card of the Premier League season, Burnley took the lead from the resulting spot-kick as Jacob Bruun Larsen converted from 12 yards.

Burnley looked to have sealed their first win in 2024 and first since a 2-0 victory over Fulham in December when David Datro Fofana slotted past Mark Flekken from inside the box to make it 2-0 but they were made to sweat for the points when Kristoffer Ajer pulled a goal back in the 83rd minute with a smart header.

Brentford thought they had snatched an equaliser at the death when Shandon Baptiste’s cross ended up in the net but referee Darren Bond blew for a foul on keeper Arijanet Muric as Vincent Kompany’s side hung on to move within eight points of safety.

In another crucial game in the relegation battle, Luke Berry scored a late equaliser to earn Luton a 1-1 draw with fellow strugglers Nottingham Forest.

Forest hit the front in the 34th minute after Morgan Gibbs-White floated a cross to the onrushing Chris Wood who volleyed home from close range.

Luton looked to have equalised before the break when Teden Mengi bundled home but referee Darren England cut celebrations short after the ball hit the defender’s arm in the process.

Forest had chances to put the game to bed and came close to a second when Anthony Elanga had an effort cleared off the line.

The Hatters struck in the 89th minute to secure a valuable point when Berry poked home from Reece Burke’s nod down inside the box to prevent Forest pulling away from the bottom three and keep the gap at three points.

David Moyes felt a host of refereeing decisions went against West Ham after they had to come from two down to rescue a point at home to Burnley.

A stoppage-time Danny Ings effort secured a 2-2 draw, but the former Burnley striker also had a goal disallowed for a marginal offside and West Ham could have had a penalty at the death when Sander Berge headed the ball into his own hand.

“The decisions today went so badly against us,” said Hammers boss Moyes.

“The offside for the goal, then there is one in the first half where the linesman puts his flag up and Jarrod Bowen is onside.

“Even if he wasn’t, the rules are supposed to be that you wait until he’s got to be sure he’s offside. He doesn’t. He puts his flag up straight away and I’ve seen it and he’s onside.

“Then you’ve got Sander Berge heads the ball or tries to head the ball in front and it hits his arms. There have been quite a few decisions today which really went against us.”

Ex-England striker Ings had probably his best game for the Hammers despite only coming on as a substitute in the 82nd minute.

As well as a disallowed goal and the equaliser, he also hit the crossbar in a breathless end to a strange match.

A long-range strike from David Datro Fofana and an own goal by Konstantinos Mavropanos had put Burnley, who kicked off rock bottom in the Premier League and had not scored for a month, two up at half-time.

West Ham, on the back of a not particularly arduous 1-0 Europa League defeat in Freiburg, were lethargic and sloppy for 45 minutes but, inspired by Lucas Paqueta’s goal early in the second half and Ings’ late, late show, hit back for a point.

“The small margins didn’t go for us today,” added Moyes.

“It is no excuse for how we started or how we played in the first half but I couldn’t fault the players for what they did in the second half, in fact I’d praise them.”

The Clarets climbed off the foot of the table but are still 10 points from safety.

“Definitely mixed feelings,” said boss Vincent Kompany.

“If I focused just on the timing of their two goals, that’s two frustrating events, the first just into the second half and again right at the end.

“It was a game of duels, of fighting, of stopping crosses, and a game of good parts for us.

“Did the team fight? Yes. I want to take that into the next game and nothing else.”

Danny Ings scored his first Premier League goal in more than a year as West Ham came from two down to snatch a 2-2 draw against his former club Burnley.

The ex-England striker had probably his best game for the Hammers despite only coming on as a substitute in the 82nd minute.

Ings had a goal disallowed, then scored the equaliser and hit the crossbar in stoppage time at the end of a barmy match.

A long-range strike from David Datro Fofana and an own goal by Konstantinos Mavropanos had put Burnley, who kicked off rock bottom in the Premier League and had not scored for a month, two up at half-time.

West Ham, on the back of a not particularly arduous 1-0 Europa League defeat in Freiburg, were lethargic and sloppy for 45 minutes but, inspired by Lucas Paqueta and Ings, hit back for a point.

They fell behind after only 11 minutes, although there did not appear to be any danger when Fofana picked the ball up 40 yards out.

But the Chelsea loanee strolled through powder-puff challenges from Nayef Aguerd and Kalvin Phillips before launching a rocket from 25 yards into the top corner.

Phillips would probably have been a shoo-in for Thursday’s England squad had he stayed on Manchester City’s bench this season.

But his loan switch to West Ham has been little short of disastrous so far and, with England boss Gareth Southgate watching from the stands, the midfielder looks in serious danger of playing himself out of the squad for this summer’s Euros.

West Ham’s abject first-half display was summed up neatly when their former youngster Josh Cullen crossed low from the left and Mavropanos stuck out a foot to divert the ball past Alphonse Areola.

James Ward-Prowse and Jarrod Bowen are also on Southgate’s radar, but both had days to forget. The latter headed his only chance wide and the former, along with Phillips, was hooked at half-time.

Edson Alverez and Michail Antonio were thrown on instead and within a minute West Ham had halved the deficit, Paqueta pouncing on some sloppy Burnley possession, striding forward and confidently beating James Trafford.

Mohammed Kudus should have equalised when he collected Bowen’s cross and had a free shot after Lorenz Assignon opted to go down clutching his face rather than defend his goal, but luckily for him the Ghana winger blazed over from 10 yards.

West Ham thought they had equalised when Ings prodded home but a VAR check showed Antonio was a fraction offside when he chested the ball into his team-mate’s path.

Yet at the start of eight minutes of stoppage time, a product of Burnley’s almost incessant time-wasting, Ings collected a pass from Kudus, turned and fired through Trafford.

The £12million signing from Aston Villa in January last year almost won it moments later but his shot crashed back off the crossbar.

Andoni Iraola does not believe Bournemouth are safe yet despite ending a seven-game winless Premier League run with a 2-0 victory over Burnley.

The Clarets and Sheffield United are cut adrift at the bottom and the Cherries are now sitting in 13th place, 11 points clear of Luton in 18th.

“I’m satisfied with the situation that we have a gap of 11 points, it’s very good, it’s important,” said the Bournemouth boss.

“But we still need more wins, we still need more points. I feel that Luton, they have very good spirit, they fight every game and they can make a good run.”

Burnley dominated possession and chances but the two moments of real quality came from Bournemouth, with Justin Kluivert opening the scoring in the 13th minute and Antoine Semenyo making sure of the win two minutes from time.

Iraola was left with mixed feelings, saying: “Obviously I’m happy because we needed this win. For sure we played worse than the last games we’ve played, but we’ll take the win.

“I was disappointed with the performance in the first half. We made adjustments and the second half was much better from our side.”

The negative was a hamstring injury suffered early in the first half by key defender Marcos Senesi.

“I think it’s a clear strain in the hamstring,” said Iraola. “I hope it’s not very big.

“It’s a very bad moment for us because we don’t have too many defenders right now. Also for him personally because he has been called again with Argentina. I know that is something important for him.”

Burnley have now gone 10 games without a victory, conceding a combined 10 goals without reply in their last three.

Manager Vincent Kompany felt the performance was a substantial improvement on last weekend’s 3-0 defeat by Crystal Palace, saying: “I did think we put in the energy that we needed.

“We created I think more shots and chances than in any of the games we’ve played in the Premier League so far this season. And even after conceding the goal, we carried on.

“But the frustration is something that has to substitute into the next game. What we can’t drop is the energy levels we had today.”

Kompany bemoaned the consistency of officiating after Josh Cullen had a second-half effort ruled out for a foul by Jacob Bruun Larsen.

“In the context of this game, you can allow or disallow this goal and have kind of a 50-50 divide,” he said.

“But, if you zoom out a little bit and put this goal against the goal we conceded against Luton, impeding a player while you’re not making contact with the ball, it’s exactly what happened in reverse.

“So in that moment you don’t give a foul and in this moment you do. That side of it is difficult to handle this season.”

Burnley have now lost 11 of their 14 league matches at Turf Moor this season and boos were audible at the final whistle.

“That’s after every defeat in every club,” said Kompany. “It’s football.

“But as long as they’re there from the start, which it was, and throughout the game they support you, that’s part of the things you have to be able to deal with and eventually it all comes back in a positive way.”