Everton vs Bournemouth. Premier League.
Goodison ParkAttendance39,201.
Match report and highlights as Abdoulaye Doucoure's 57th-minute strike preserves Everton's Premier League status against Bournemouth; Toffees will play top-flight football for a 70th consecutive season as Leeds and Leicester are relegated
Monday 29 May 2023 06:22, UK
Everton survived relegation by the skin of their teeth to preserve their top-flight status for a 70th successive season after overcoming Bournemouth 1-0 on a final day fuelled with drama at a raucous Goodison Park.
The Toffees, one of six ever-present clubs in the Premier League since the competition's inception in 1992, were in the bottom three for much of the opening hour on Sunday after Leicester took the lead against West Ham.
But Abdoulaye Doucoure's superb strike from the edge of the box (57) dragged his side back out of the relegation zone to break Leicester hearts, as the Foxes join Leeds in dropping to the Sky Bet Championship.
Bournemouth, who finish in 15th place, threatened an equaliser when Kieffer Moore's header was scrambled clear, while Jordan Pickford saved well from Matias Vina, but following an interminable 10 minutes of stoppage time caused by a hand injury to Pickford, Everton held on.
A breathless Pickford told Sky Sports: "I'm knackered! Doucs find a strike from somewhere. It's massive for the club. We didn't want it to go down to the wire but we keep going."
Writing in his programme notes, Dyche outlined how important it was for each component of the club to align and pull in the same direction, highlighting the connection with his battle-hardened supporters.
"We all know about the power of Goodison. It's real and it's powerful, tangible and deeply affective."
How Goodison roared at the final whistle. Gary O'Neil, Bournemouth's manager, played in Everton's last final-day victory back in 2016 as a member of the Norwich side that lost 3-0.
His side switched Everton around at the coin toss for them to attack the Gwladys Street End and the hosts started as though they were already playing catch-up. It allowed Bournemouth to assert themselves as Jefferson Lerma skied a shot inside five minutes.
Everton operated almost exclusively down the left in the opening half an hour, involving Dwight McNeil and Alex Iwobi but, shorn of the presence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, there was no presence inside the six-yard box as too often Demarai Gray gambled by taking up a deeper position.
Finally, a chance came as Amadou Onana released Idrissa Gueye, but his shot was superbly tipped over by Mark Travers. Another swirling strike from Gueye moments later was watched and batted away by Bournemouth's deputy goalkeeper as news filtered through of Harvey Barnes' strike for Leicester.
Bournemouth looked to add to the nerves by edging in front as David Brooks' miscued volley from a Philip Billing corner landed at the feet of Dango Ouattara. He set up Marcos Senesi for a poked shot from an acute angle that drifted just wide of the far post.
Travers, who conceded nine against Liverpool on his last visit to Merseyside back in August, was in the mood to frustrate his opponents as he tipped over James Garner's dipping effort on the stroke of half-time.
Everton were in need of a rousing tonic at the interval, and Gray was presented with the perfect opportunity six minutes after the restart. Yerry Mina's aerial presence caused panic in the Bournemouth box as Illya Zabarnyi's attempted clearance landed on the head of Gray, but Travers got down to shovel his effort around the post. Gray had to score.
But then the moment arrived. Gueye's searching ball towards Onana was headed out to the edge of the box when Doucoure lurked. He steadied himself and drilled the ball beyond the static Travers. Goodison erupted.
Everton now had to hold on as Leicester doubled their lead over West Ham, and with Moore now on, the Welshman caused havoc when his header back across goal was clawed away from the goal-line by a combination of Pickford and Conor Coady at the feet of Dominic Solanke.
It led to an almighty delay as Pickford and Solanke squared up, with the Bournemouth striker appealing for a bite by Mina during the heated skirmish. It would lead to plenty of time being added on for the home fans to suffer.
During the 10 minutes of stoppage time, Vina drew a fine stop from Pickford after Moore's header back across goal. Doucoure - the lion heart who signed a contract extension in midweek - drove forward, one last time to force Travers into another save to keep the contest live.
Referee Stuart Attwell mercifully put an end to all that, as a pitch invasion ensued and cries of "sack the board" rained down from those who abided by those commands to remain in their seats. Twelve months on from survival under Frank Lampard, Everton had found themselves in the same position. A busy summer now lies ahead.
Everton boss Sean Dyche:
"It means a lot. I took over what they called a broken club. It's not broken. It's had its cracks but it's not broken. We've shown the fighting spirit that you need.
"But equally, I've just told the players that we shouldn't be in this state. We've got to learn from that and next season's going to be big. It's a magic day but we shouldn't be in this shape. You're only a big club if you're doing big club things. It is a big club but we have to get it back to being one on the pitch.
"Anyone can take the wheel of a ship in calm waters. We haven't changed everything but we've affected the group. It's difficult - you're taking on someone else's group, so I'm pleased for me and my staff. There's a hell of a lot to be done now.
"It was a hideous game. No manager wants those games. You have to find some weird, twisted way of enjoying it. But it's fantastic when you come through it and get the job done.
Bournemouth boss Gary O'Neil:
"It was enjoyable, I thought the lads handled it well and stood up to Everton's direct play. It was what I expected it to be. I thought we were the better side and had control for the most part. Still lots there we need to progress on.
"We knew what we were coming into against a direct team. We've struggled against direct sides this season and maybe didn't create enough. I'm excited that we've got to the point where we can perform like that in those conditions under a lot of pressure. I saw a team that stood up to the battle and represented what I stand for.
"The fact we had 39 points against this level of officiating is a miracle. I thought the refereeing was terrible. It's a miracle it's taken this amount of time for me to get booked. It can't be us who always suffer on the day. Hopefully next season it improves for us as it's been really poor this season. My biggest disappointment this season has been the level of officiating we've suffered."
Sky Sports' Ben Grounds at Goodison Park:
The last time Everton were relegated in May 1951, Clement Attlee was Prime Minister, Cliff Britton was manager and Everest had yet to be scaled.
It took three years for the club to climb out of the old Second Division. Monday marks the 70th anniversary of Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay's historic ascent.
Everton will have their platinum jubilee at the summit of English football, but their supporters have stared into the abyss throughout this 69th campaign.
Fans with headsets replacing transistor radios for such days will never go out of fashion. News from Leeds and Leicester reverberated around Goodison like wildfire. For Everton, of nine league titles and the most number of seasons of any club in England's top flight, this had become their Everest.
It is worth looking at other historic clubs and when they were last relegated. Manchester United went in 1974, six years after winning the European Cup. Liverpool two decades earlier in 1954. It was 1977 for Spurs and Chelsea's turn in 1988. Arsenal are the only side to outlast Everton. They've been around since 1920. Forget all the rest.
Unlike against Wimbledon in 1994 and Coventry in 1998 - but as in 1951 against Sheffield Wednesday when a 6-0 loss condemned the club to relegation - Everton entered the final reckoning in control of their own destiny.
Three successive home defeats and an aggregate 7-1 hiding in a week at Bournemouth earlier in the season in league and Carabao Cup struck an ominous chord.
"Everything that could have gone wrong has," is how one supporter explained to me as I canvassed opinion outside The Brick pub beforehand.
Back in January and ever since, the board has been absent from Goodison on the grounds of their own safety. When those in power are vilifying their own fanbase, it is quite a feat for the players and fans to have mobilised yet again in the face of adversity.
Dwight McNeil prepared for Sunday's game by watching The Last Dance to block out the build-up. Yerry Mina referenced Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls' tale in his farewell post on the eve of the game.
And when the music stopped at this famous stadium, a goal out of nothing that meant everything kept Everton on the pathway to salvation. They had avoided their day of ignominy but are flying very close to the sun. With the sweeping relief must now come a summer of change.
Everton's Abdoulaye Doucouré has scored five Premier League goals this season, only netting more in 2017-18 (7). All five strikes have come in 15 games under Sean Dyche, after having scored none in 24 Premier League appearances under predecessor Frank Lampard.
Sky Sports' Ben Grounds:
It has been quite a turnaround for pre-season relegation favourites Bournemouth under Gary O'Neil.
His predecessor Scott Parker was dismissed just 26 days into the season after claiming his squad wasn't good enough for the Premier League. The 9-0 loss at Liverpool pointed towards a long hard nine months of strife.
But O'Neil has galvanised the group and made a mockery of that assertion. There has been the need to negotiate American billionaire Bill Foley's takeover, but January proved a crucial window for the Cherries. Dango Ouattara - signed for £20m from Lorient - and the loan of Matias Vina from Roma have stood out as significant upgrades.
A dramatic defeat back in February at Arsenal from a two-goal lead nonetheless instilled belief that salvation could be reached. From that moment, Bournemouth rose from the canvas and never looked back, winning six of their next nine games to be nine points clear of the bottom three with four games remaining.
Job done, with plenty to spare. O'Neil encouraged his players to prove just about everyone wrong, and Bournemouth have come through with flying colours.
The Premier League season will kick-off on August 12 and conclude nine months later on May 19, 2024.
The start is one week later than the 2022/23 launch as the schedule returns to normal following the Covid-19 pandemic and the Qatar 2022 World Cup, which provided disruption during the previous three seasons.
However, the fixture list provides for a return of the mid-season player break which will take place between January 13-20.
Fixtures for the new Premier League season will be revealed at 9am on Thursday June 15 and you can follow the announcements on Sky Sports News and across Sky Sports' digital platforms.
