Everton returned to form after a five-match winless run with an emphatic 4-0 home win over struggling Wolverhampton Wanderers.
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Having been beaten 4-0 by Manchester United on Sunday, Everton responded in force at Goodison Park by the same scoreline against a team also battling at the wrong end of the table.
Ashley Young opened the scoring with an excellent free-kick early on, bringing up his 50th Premier League goal and becoming the fourth-oldest player to score a Premier League goal, at 39 years 148 days.
Orel Mangala then doubled Everton’s advantage with a stinging, deflected shot, after the hosts had also had a goal disallowed.
Everton’s set-piece proficiency continued in the second half – Craig Dawson twice turned into his own net as he challenged Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Sean Dyche's side claimed a morale-boosting win that takes them 15th, five points clear of the bottom three, with Wolves in 19th.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 |
West Ham
WHU
|
14 | -9 | 15 |
| 15 |
Everton
EVE
|
14 | -7 | 14 |
| 16 |
Leicester
LEI
|
14 | -9 | 13 |
| 17 |
Crystal Palace
CRY
|
14 | -6 | 12 |
| 18 |
Ipswich
IPS
|
14 | -12 | 9 |
| 19 |
Wolves
WOL
|
14 | -14 | 9 |
| 20 |
Southampton
SOU
|
14 | -19 | 5 |
How the match unfolded
Everton were off the mark after 10 minutes when Young curled a low free-kick around the Wolves wall and in at Jose Sa’s near post.
The Toffees exposed Wolves’ set-piece fragility again as Dwight McNeil swung a cross in for James Tarkowski to head home. However, the goal was overturned following a VAR review, with Mangala having been deemed to have interfered with an opponent from an offside position.
Jordan Pickford denied Wolves an equaliser when Jorgen Strand Larsen outmuscled Tarkowski, while the visiting forward also glanced wide from a cross, but Gary O’Neil’s team were left to rue those misses in the 33rd minute when Mangala stormed onto a loose ball and hammered in a strike that deflected beyond Sa.
Up The Four-goal Toffees! ⚽️⚽️⚽️⚽️#EVEWOL highlights are out now... ⬇️
— Everton (@Everton) December 4, 2024
Everton had their third four minutes after half-time, Dawson netting the first of his two own goals as he battled with Calvert-Lewin from McNeil’s corner.
Iliman Ndiaye had the ball in the net for a fourth just after the hour-mark, but the referee blew for a foul on Sa in the build-up, with VAR confirming the decision. But Everton added further gloss when Dawson diverted in as he lunged to block Calvert-Lewin’s stooping header.
Everton's dead-ball prowess
All four of the hosts’ goals started with a dead-ball scenario, and this is a weapon Dyche has relied on during his time at Goodison.
That threat has been nullified in recent weeks, with the Toffees having not scored in four games heading into Wednesday’s contest, but they sharpened up against a Wolves defence that simply could not handle Everton’s physicality in the box.
Young was the first to benefit as he capitalised on Wolves’ misplaced wall to curl a low shot home.
Yet it was McNeil’s crosses that caused the visitors the most consternation.
The hosts’ second should have been warning enough as Wolves failed to clear from McNeil’s delivery out on the right, which allowed Mangala the space and time to unleash a stinging shot from the edge of the box. That came after Tarkowski had been given a free header from close range too, with that goal disallowed.
Everton’s next two goals benefited more directly from McNeil’s deliveries. First, he sent a great ball to the back post, and while Calvert-Lewin didn’t get the final touch, such was the placement, Dawson could only nudge it in.
It was another superb delivery from the right by McNeil that allowed Calvert-Lewin a slight touch at the near post before Dawson’s attempted block flew into the bottom corner and past Sa, as Everton returned to scoring form in style ahead of facing local rivals Liverpool on Saturday.
Defensive discipline costs Wolves
It took only four minutes before Wolves showed their first signs of defensive vulnerability. Calvert-Lewin was nearly gifted a goal as miscommunication between Sa and Dawson forced the latter to make a hasty clearance.
The visitors have only kept one clean sheet all season, and on Wednesday’s evidence it was clear to see why.
While they remained error-prone inside their own half, with Matheus Cunha guilty of conceding possession in danger areas on a couple of occasions, their defence at set-pieces also left much to be desired.
Sa was left raging at his ineffective wall for Young’s opener before the visitors twice allowed Tarkowski to rise uncontested in the box to head goalwards. His first nestled into the far corner before being ruled out, while his second forced a reactive low catch from Sa.
Dawson’s misfortune epitomised the malaise of the Wolves defence as, after conceding an own goal, he repeated the earlier mistake to send a slow backpass dangerously close to the pursuing Calvert-Lewin, leaving Sa to sweep up.
While a favourable run of fixtures awaits Wolves, such mistakes will need to be cut out if they are to pick up the necessary points to drag themselves out of trouble.
Club reports
Everton report | Wolves report
Next Premier League fixtures
Match facts
Everton’s Ashley Young scored his 50th Premier League goal tonight and at 39 years and 148 days old, he is the oldest player to reach this milestone in the competition’s history, surpassing Mark Bright who netted his 50th in the competition aged 36 years and 225 days old in January 1999.
Wolves’ 36 goals conceded after 14 matches is their most at this stage of a top-flight campaign since 1964-65 (40 goals), a campaign in which they were relegated, whilst their nine defeats at this stage is their most in a top-flight season since 2010-11.
Wolves defender Craig Dawson tonight became only the fifth player to score multiple own goals in the same Premier League match and the first since Wout Faes did so for Leicester City against Liverpool in December 2022.
