Everton had to dig deep to secure a defeat of Bournemouth which ends their recent run of poor results at Goodison Park.
The Toffees headed into Sunday’s match-up without a win in any of their previous four Premier League matches at their historic home, but they got back to winning ways thanks to goals from on-loan Chelsea defender Kurt Zouma and young attacker Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
The match was goalless at the break despite Bournemouth doing well in the opening period and creating a few good chances to find a way past Jordan Pickford in the hosts’ goal.
Everton came out stronger after the restart, however, and Zouma headed them in front just after the hour mark.
Marco Silva’s side had to deal with intense pressure from the visitors in the dying stages, and they did so successfully, before Calvert-Lewin killed off the game by putting them two goals to the good in injury time.
The victory moves Everton up into the top half of the table, though they remain two points behind Watford in the hunt for a seventh place finish.
Bournemouth now have just two wins in their last 12 league games.
Star man
Though Kurt Zouma scored the important opening goal, it was his defensive partner Michael Keane who really stood out. The towering centre-half was a rock at the heart of Everton’s backline, and his willingness to put his body on the line for the greater good was the kind of passion Marco Silva needed from his players in a must-win game such as this.
Moment of the match
Bournemouth were all over their opponents in the first 15 minutes, and they were unlucky to not take the lead inside this period.
One move ended with David Brooks seeing a shot of his smash off the left-hand post, and, had the ball found the back of the net, it would have been no less than the Cherries deserved.
But the ball struck the woodwork, and the momentum appeared to swing on Brooks’ miss, with the hosts growing into the game over the next couple of minutes to eventually take control of proceedings.
Next up
Southampton vs EVERTON (Saturday, January 19)
BOURNEMOUTH vs West Ham (Saturday, January 19)
