Everton end three-month winless run at home with victory over struggling Burnley

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Everton 2-0 Burnley: The win over the Clarets by no means guarantees their travails at Hill Dickinson Stadium are over

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Everton won at home for the first time in three months to keep themselves in the hunt for European football with a 2-0 victory over struggling Burnley.

The win over the Clarets by no means guarantees their travails at Hill Dickinson Stadium are over with Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City still to visit but it avoided the unpalatable prospect of failing to profit against the Premier League’s second-bottom side.

James Tarkowski’s first goal – via a routine header – since February 2025 did not come close to matching the one he lashed home in added time for Everton’s final Merseyside derby goal at Goodison Park but it eased the tension.

Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s sixth of the season, a cool clipped finish past Martin Dubravka on the hour, made him the team’s joint top scorer in the league and essentially ended Burnley’s chances of a comeback.

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The patience of the visiting fans, who have seen their team win just once since October, cracked in the final 20 minutes with chants of “You don’t know what you’re doing” aimed at boss Scott Parker after he replaced Hannibal Mejbri with Josh Laurent.

Burnley remain eight points from safety with a return to the Championship looming but Everton still harbour hopes of sneaking into Europe next season as they moved to within three points of sixth-placed Chelsea.

Improving their home form – this was only their fifth league win here – will strengthen their case, as will Tarkowski contributing more from set-pieces.

Just past the half-hour the centre-back planted a header from James Garner’s deep free-kick to score from Everton’s first shot on target.

Another Garner set-piece, this time swinging into the near post, was headed on by Jarrad Branthwaite but was kept out by Dubravka.

With Iliman Ndiaye appearing to have regained the form he showed before he departed to win the Africa Cup of Nations, Everton were able to pin the visitors back but Beto wasted a good chance early in the second half when he ballooned a header onto the roof of the net.

Another opportunity was wasted when Idrissa Gueye intercepted a loose pass from Bashir Humphreys but delayed sliding in Ndiaye and by the time he did his Senegal team-mate had strayed offside.

Ndiaye did not make the same mistake picking out Dewsbury-Hall after a move which had travelled from right to left to make it 2-0 and Gueye was only denied by the crossbar after unleashing a shot from 20 yards.

To prove a point Jordan Pickford produced a brilliant close-range reaction save – not quite as good as the one at Newcastle – to deny Lyle Foster with the last kick.

It was the first time this season Everton had managed to beat one of the promoted teams and after taking just five points from the previous 24 on the banks of the River Mersey manager David Moyes will hope this can be a turning point.

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