Everton ease relegation fears with unlikely rout of Brighton

The muckiest, grubbiest of away wins would have sufficed for Everton but this was not one of them. They took Brighton apart with as lethal a counterattacking display as any team will produce all season, scoring three times in the first half and not being remotely flattered. Abdoulaye Doucouré was on target twice, one of them inside the first minute, before Dwight McNeil forced an own goal from Jason Steele. Sean Dyche’s players could have added to that tally in a rampant spell.

Incredibly, more was to come. When the outstanding McNeil tapped in 14 minutes from the end, Everton’s bench exploded with jubilation at a mission expertly accomplished. He would better it with a thudding fifth deep into added time. Alexis Mac Allister’s consolation did not change the fact they are now out of the bottom three and will surely stay up with a couple more performances of this quality.

They began emphatically and did not let up. Making Brighton swap ends after winning the toss was presumably one way to disrupt their hosts but surely, in his wildest dreams, Dyche could not have envisaged anything that happened next. He would have given anything for something to cling onto and his team had it within 33 seconds, much to the delight of the support who celebrated wildly as Doucouré converted in front of them.

Brighton had brought it upon themselves, losing possession when Kaoru Mitoma’s attempt to spin Nathan Patterson near halfway was read easily by the right-back. Alex Iwobi subsequently slid a pass down the inside right that caught Lewis Dunk flat-footed, allowing Dominic Calvert-Lewin to turn neatly and streak away. His centre was slightly behind Doucouré, who adjusted smartly to turn it in.

Now Brighton were exactly where Everton