Jeff Hendrick's solitary strike ensured that Burnley kept their unbeaten away record in the Premier League intact, as the Clarets condemned Everton to another defeat courtesy of a 1-0 victory at Goodison Park this afternoon.
Following Thursday's disappointing draw in the Europa League, Ronald Koeman made five changes with Wayne Rooney dropping to the bench, and those alterations appeared to have a positive impact as the Toffees made an energised start.
Some early pressure from the hosts saw Dominic Calvert-Lewin dispossess Ben Mee, leaving Nikola Vlasic to eventually find Gylfi Sigurdsson inside the box, but the playmaker drilled his effort straight at Nick Pope.
Oumar Niasse's inclusion almost found the opener for the Toffees not long after, although Sigurdsson again proved wasteful as he was thwarted by an impressive retreating tackle from James Tarkowski.
Burnley started the game quietly in attack, but there proved method to their approach as they began to get a foothold in the game, which soon led to a 20-pass move that allowed Stephen Ward to break beyond the defence. The midfielder then squared to Hendrick in the area and he made no mistake with a drilled finish past Jordan Pickford.
That goal turned the course of the first half as Burnley grew in dominance, and they were unlucky not to grab a second before the break when Ward combined with Chris Wood, only for the striker to get caught underneath the ball at the vital moment.
Koeman decided against changes during the interval and Burnley soon grew back into their stride, Robbie Brady doing well to lose his marker before seeing Pickford come out to gather a smart ball across the box towards an unmarked Wood.
With Everton looking bereft of creativity, Koeman introduced Rooney for Morgan Schneiderlin, although the hosts' forward movement remained largely anaemic as the Toffees continued to stutter in the final third.
At times it looked as though the visitors were more likely to increase their lead than to lose it, and as the game wore on Burnley slowly began to close up shop in order to secure a victory on the road that never really appeared in too much doubt.
Christopher Dodd
