Everton 3-0 Fulham: Gylfi Sigurdsson scores twice after penalty miss

Cenk Tosun celebratesImage source, Getty Images
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Cenk Tosun scored Everton's second goal and his first of the season

Everton manager Marco Silva says he made his feelings clear in the dressing room at half-time before his side scored three second-half goals against Fulham to record their second Premier League win of the season.

After a poor first-half Toffees display, Gylfi Sigurdsson made amends for a missed penalty with a brace that helped Everton record their first win since August and inflict a fourth defeat of the season on Fulham.

Sigurdsson wasted a big chance for Silva's side early in the second half when he hit the crossbar from the spot, but atoned shortly after with a crisp left-footed strike from the edge of the box.

Substitute Cenk Tosun doubled the Toffees' lead 10 minutes later with an easy header at the far post from a smart Theo Walcott cross before Sigurdsson added a third in the 89th minute.

"I told the boys what my feelings were in the dressing room," Silva said.

"We have have to take different decisions and be a little bit more calm when we have the ball, and when we are attacking. It was an important result for us but it was only three points, and now we must start preparing for the next game in the normal way."

Fulham have never won at Goodison Park in the league, losing 23 - the last 22 in a row - and drawing the other four matches.

Slavisa Jokanovic's side sit three points above the bottom three in 16th with just one Premier League win this season, while Everton are 11th.

Wasteful Fulham rue missed chances

A drab first half saw just one shot on target, with Theo Walcott forcing Marcus Bettinelli into a low save at the far post.

But the best chance of the first 45 minutes fell to Fulham, who will feel they should have gone into half-time ahead. An impressive team move ended with Ryan Sessegnon firing against the bar from close range.

Fulham arguably had the better chances in the first half and had five shots compared to Everton's one.

Aleksandar Mitrovic and Andre Schurrle found space in similar positions on the edge of the box in quick succession, but both fired over Jordan Pickford's goal.

Jokanovic was forced to make an early change when Timothy Fosu-Mensah was carried off on a stretcher with a shoulder injury after landing awkwardly.

His replacement, Cyrus Christie, struggled to cope with Richarlison and was booked after a number of clumsy challenges on the Brazilian.

Fulham failed to muster a single shot on target in the 90 minutes and have now scored only three goals in four away league games this season. They have now lost four straight league games against Everton for the first time.

Toffees dominate second half

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Everton 3-0 Fulham: Everton were different in the second half - Silva

Whatever Everton boss Marco Silva said at half-time clearly did the job.

His side came out attacking and almost took the lead three minutes after the restart. A Sigurdsson corner found Michael Keane, who nodded down to Richarlison, but the Brazilian's acrobatic effort at the far post was just over Bettinelli's bar.

Kurt Zouma headed over shortly after before Everton's first clear-cut chance came when Dominic Calvert-Lewin was fouled in the box.

It looked as though referee Roger East had initially dismissed the claims, but assistant referee Andy Garrett spotted the shove from Denis Odoi and the penalty was eventually awarded.

It was the first Premier League spot-kick missed by Sigurdsson, who scored his previous six.

But just four minutes later, Jonjoe Kenny's low drive into the box was booted away by Odoi, straight into the path of Sigurdsson who curled in from just outside the box.

At 1-0 down, Fulham had another decent chance on the hour mark when Andre Schurrle squared it to Luciano Vietto, but the Argentine's touch was too heavy and Jordan Pickford raced out to gather the ball.

Tosun replaced Calvert-Lewin shortly before Sigurdsson's goal, and got in on the action himself when he headed in his first goal of the season from Walcott's chipped cross.

Another substitute, Bernard, made an impact in the dying minutes when his pass picked out Sigurdsson on the edge of the box, the Icelandic rolling past Bettinelli to cap another miserable afternoon at Goodison for Fulham.

Whilst the three points are most important, Everton will also take confidence from keeping a clean sheet for the first time this season.

Man of the match - Gylfi Sigurdsson (Everton)

Image source, Getty Images
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Despite his missed penalty, Sigurdsson has now been directly involved in five goals in his four Premier League appearances against Fulham

'We must fight like it's the last second in our life' - what they said

Everton manager Marco Silva: "It's important to be clear what we did in the second half was really different. We have to be more aggressive than our opponents but sometimes we have to be more calm. We changed our team a little bit higher and our pressure was better in the second half.

"Of course it's important to get three points but the clean sheet is really important as well.

"Sigurdsson showed fantastic character and personality after he missed the penalty and deserved the goals because he works hard. Today, football was fair with him because he works hard.

"We have to think always about winning. The last two results were really disappointing for us and we had to react and that's what we did. The first half wasn't the best but the game is 90 minutes."

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Fulham need to be more clinical - Jokanovic

Fulham manager Slavisa Jokanovic: "We must be more clinical in important moments in this competition. We had one clear chance from Schurrle, and also Sessegnon hit the crossbar, but we didn't score and they fought harder and scored three easy goals.

"We must show more solidarity and fight like it's the last second in our life. In one moment we give up and trust that we can change the situation and this is not acceptable.

"I cannot be frustrated, I must open my mind and find the solution. We need to improve many things and we must believe in ourselves and find the way for improvement."

22 successive wins for Everton - the stats

  • Everton have won their past 22 top-flight home games against Fulham - a record in English top division football.

  • Fulham haven't kept a clean sheet in any of their past 22 away Premier League games, the longest ongoing run in the division (current clubs only).

  • Everton have won all 14 of their Premier League home games against Fulham by an aggregate score of 35-7, the best 100% win record against a team on home soil in the competition.

  • Since his maiden season in the Premier League in 2011-12, Gylfi Sigurdsson has netted 18 goals from outside the box in the competition, a haul only Philippe Coutinho can better (19).

  • Everton winger Theo Walcott has had a hand in four goals in his past five Premier League home games (two goals, two assists), as many as he managed in his previous 13 in the competition.

What's next?

Everton host Southampton in the EFL Cup third round on Tuesday (kick-off 19:45 BST), before a trip to Leicester City next Saturday (15:00).

Fulham are back in action on Sunday, 7 October when they welcome Arsenal to Craven Cottage in the Premier League (kick-off 12:00).

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