Burnley 1 Everton 3
Redemption rarely comes quicker. For nine minutes, Romelu Lukaku was the errant Evertonian, the player who cost them the lead. Then he was the Merseysiders’ rescuer, undoing the damage he had done. His careless pass brought Burnley a goal; his clinical finish helped earn Everton a victory.
It was bookended by contrasting, but classy, goals from Samuel Eto’o as a combination of young and old forwards proved successful for Everton. They have won successive league games for the first time this season.
Eight days after they were perched precariously just above the relegation zone, they clambered into the top half of the table. Everton’s start to the season was underwhelming and Lukaku was a microcosm of his team. Yet while there were mumblings of discontent among the supporters, his nine league games have already produced four goals. Such are the standards he set during his seasons on loan at first West Bromwich Albion and then Everton. Such is the size of his €36 million fee.
For Burnley, whose transfer outlay in their 132-year history stands at less than €64 million, his decider was a reminder of how profoundly unfair the Premier League seems, even if their tormentor-in-chief arrived on a free transfer. The days when Eto’o was the most feared No 9 in football are long gone, along with the pace that made him so prolific for Barcelona. Nevertheless, his footballing brain has allowed Roberto Martínez to recast him a No 10, a role he performed with intuitive understanding. His opener was a case in point.
Eto’o began the move in the centre circle and materialised, some 40 yards further forward and several seconds later, in the Burnley box with perfect timing. He met Leighton Baines’s cross with a header that crashed in off the underside of the bar.
Burnley, who have been ahead in a game for only three minutes all season, were behind within four. From their perspective, it was an awful goal to concede. Baines, scarcely a secret weapon, was afforded ample room to cross. Eto’o was left unmarked.
The next time an attacker was found unattended, an Everton player was again the supplier. Attempting to find Baines, Lukaku only succeeded in picking out Lukas Jutkiewicz. He slid a pass through for Danny Ings to dart beyond the Everton defence, skip away from Tim Howard and guide his shot into the empty net. It was not merely Ings's first goal of the season, but the first by any Burnley striker. As he and the injured Sam Vokes contributed 47 between them last year, it is an indication of their problems.
Lukaku was swift to make amends for his mistake. After neat interplay between Eto'o and Steven Naismith, he spun while accepting the Scot's pass. Stephen Ward blocked Lukaku's first shot. The second was dinked into the corner of Tom Heaton's net.
Everton could have stretched their lead, Naismith looping a header on to the top of the bar from Leon Osman’s cross. Eto’o attempted a series of second-half efforts before sealing victory in style with a terrific 25-yard effort. He could have had a hat-trick too, hitting the post in injury time.
(Guardian Service)
