Conor Coady heads Wolves to victory and deepens Everton’s drop worries

Only Ryan Giggs has won more Premier League games as a player than Frank Lampard but one of the division’s royalty is threatened with ejection from the ranks of the elite. Everton’s position grows ever more precarious. They were imperilled both by a fourth consecutive league defeat and by results elsewhere. Others may yet save them, but Everton showed precious little ability to save themselves. They may have been relying on Goodison Park to provide salvation but a rare Merseysider present to enjoy their latest setback was the man who condemned them to defeat: Conor Coady, a former Liverpool player and lifelong fan.

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He enabled his side to leapfrog Tottenham, complete a first double over Everton since 1973 and provide another endorsement of Bruno Lage’s low-profile, high-quality regime. Everton were combative in the first half but rather more shambolic in the second. They were reduced to 10 men when Jonjoe Kenny collected two cautions in the space of four minutes and ended up being outclassed by Rúben Neves. If they are not alone in that, Wolves’ eventual dominance boded badly for their victims.

Founder members of the Football League might not be meeting in the Premier League next season. “Going down,” came the taunt from the vocal visitors and, as Everton only have two wins in their last 20 league games, they might be right. They have not scored in the last four whereas Wolves have an unexpectedly potent force.

Coady, who failed to even register a shot on target in his first 87 Premier League games, has doubled his tally of Wolves goals this season. His third was a wonderful header, curling away from Jordan Pickford, from