EPL Result: Southampton 3 - 0 Everton

Southampton have ended their five game losing streak in all competitions after beating Everton 3-0 at St Mary's this afternoon.

Romelu Lukaku put the ball into his own net to give Southampton the lead before goals from Graziano Pelle and Maya Yoshida sealed the win for the Saints.

The loss is Everton's third consecutive away defeat in the Premier League.

Southampton made a bright start to the match and made sure they put Everton under a good amount of pressure early on.

Despite this, Roberto Martinez's men kept the ball well and saw a lot of possession during the opening exchanges.

It was Southampton who went closest to opening the scoring as Nathaniel Clyne floated in a cross for Pelle, but the Italian ended up putting his header over the bar.

Everton finally registered their first shot on goal as Ross Barkley drove through the middle before firing in a low strike which was straight at Fraser Forster.

The chance lifted Everton but Southampton went in front when James Ward-Prowse's corner was touched into his own net by the head of Lukaku just before the break.

The Saints might have grabbed a quick second when Ryan Bertrand fired a low cross into the middle, but Pelle could only put the ball into the side netting.

There was a visible increase in urgency in Everton's attack during the second half as they looked to pass the ball more quickly in the final third.

Southampton always looked threatening on the counter, however, and they got a second goal through Pelle, who poked in past Tim Howard after combining with Shane Long.

Everton spurned a few chances to get back in the game before Yoshida secured the points for Ronald Koeman's side by powering in a header from close range.

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EPL Preview: Southampton vs. Everton

Southampton manager Ronald Koeman could face further selection problems for the club's fixture with Everton.

The Saints, who have been plagued by injuries in recent weeks, will definitely be without Dusan Tadic and Jake Hesketh, while there are doubts over the fitness of Steven Davis and Graziano Pelle.

That could leave Koeman being forced to start midfielder James Ward-Prowse, who has only just returned from a three-month spell on the sidelines, and Emmanuel Mayuka, with Shane Long possibly being moved into a wide position.

Four consecutive league defeats have seen Southampton fall from second to fifth in the table and if results go against them over the weekend, they could soon find themselves two spots lower in seventh.

Everton boss Roberto Martinez has indicated that midfield duo Leon Osman and Kevin Mirallas will miss the trip to St Mary's through injury but expects the pair to return within weeks rather than months.

However, Martinez is boosted by the return of Gareth Barry, who sat out Monday's 3-1 victory over Queens Park Rangers through suspension.

The success at Goodison Park ended a run of three games without a win and Martinez will have his eyes on a top-six position by the end of 2014.

Southampton:
Form in Premier League: WDLLLL

Possible starting lineup: Forster; Clyne, Fonte, Alderweireld, Bertrand; Wanyama, S. Davis; Ward-Prowse, Long, Mane; Mayuka

Everton:
Form in Premier League: DWLDLW

Possible starting lineup: Howard, Baines, Distin, Jagielka, Coleman, Besic, Barkley, Barry, Naismith, McGeady, Lukaku

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EPL Result: Leicester 2 - 2 Everton

Chris Wood scored inside the final five minutes to earn Leicester City a 2-2 draw with Everton in their first match back in the Premier League this afternoon.

Everton made the brighter start to the match, and took the lead when Aiden McGeady picked out the top corner with a curling effort to score his first goal for the club.

However, their lead lasted just two minutes after forcing a corner straight from the restart, resulting in a header for Leonardo Ulloa.

It looked like the sides would be heading into the break level, but Steven Pienaar found Steven Naismith just before the break, setting up the latter for a shot in off the underside of the bar.

Leicester made a bright start after the break as they pushed for an equaliser, but they struggled to convert their possession into shots on goal.

Jeff Schlupp came off the bench to give the newly-promoted side some fresh legs up front, and he had a chance just moments after being introduced, by sliced his strike high.

Leicester continued to push for a goal, and managed to get back on level terms inside the final five minutes when Wood, who had been on the pitch less than 10 minutes when the ball fell to him a the near post for a tap in.

Everton piled forward in the final moments as they tried to force a winner in stoppage time, but Romelu Lukaku fired the ball over deep into stoppage time, ensuring that the scores finished level.

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RESULT: Everton Cruise Past Arsenal To Close Gap On Fourth Place

Everton have defeated Arsenal 3-0 at Goodison Park to close the gap on their opponents to just one point in the battle for fourth place.

Two first-half goals put the Toffees on their way, before Mikel Arteta's own goal wrapped up the points to leave the Gunners hanging on to the final Champions League spot.

The hosts almost got off to a dream start when Leon Osman struck a volley from the corner of the area, but the ball swerved just wide of the target to the relief of Wojciech Szczesny.

Everton made the breakthrough on 14 minutes courtesy of Steven Naismith, who tapped home after Romelu Lukaku's initial effort had been kept out by Szczesny.

Roberto Martinez's men increased the pressure further in search of a second, and following a succession of near-misses, Lukaku found a way through to make it 2-0.

The Belgian international collected Kevin Mirallas's pass on the right-hand side, before cutting inside and finishing low into the far corner to put the Toffees into a commanding position 10 minutes before the interval.

Arsenal came close to pulling one back through Lukas Podolski when his mishit shot bobbled up and nearly over Tim Howard, but the American keeper managed acrobatically tip the ball over to retain his side's two-goal cushion.

Olivier Giroud almost capitalised on some sloppy Everton play shortly after the restart, with the striker being gifted an opportunity by Mirallas to find the net, though Howard was quick to close him down to save his teammates blushes.

Any hopes Arsenal had of finding a route back into the game were soon over, however, when Bacary Sagna was dispossessed leaving Mirallas to charge up field and play in Naismith. The winger was initially beaten to the ball by Szczesny, but Arteta was unfortunate to be in the path of the clearance which he ended up sliding into his own net.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain came within inches of pulling back a consolation for Arsene Wenger's charges with a strike from 25-yards, only for the ball to come back off the bar, while Yaya Sanogo's 'goal' was ruled out for being offside in the dying seconds.


Source: www.sportsmole.co.uk

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SPORTS: Manchester City 3 - 1 Everton

Manchester City bounced back from a pair of defeats to end Everton's unbeaten start to the English Premier League season with a 3-1 win at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday. Beaten 3-2 by Aston Villa last weekend and outclassed by Bayern Munich in mid-week, City fell behind to a Romelu Lukaku goal but roared back to win through goals from Alvaro Negredo, Sergio Aguero and a Tim Howard own goal.

Manuel Pellegrini's side rose to second place in the standings, two points behind leaders Arsenal, while Roberto Martinez's Everton, who had been the last unbeaten team in the division, remain fifth.

Everton took a 16th-minute lead through on-loan Chelsea striker Lukaku, who sprang the offside trap to collect Phil Jagielka's pass and deftly nutmegged Joleon Lescott before beating Joe Hart with a low shot.

It was his third goal in two games, following his brace against Newcastle United on Monday, but City replied within a minute, Negredo squeezing the ball past Howard from Yaya Toure's fine reverse pass.

City were dealt a blow in the 34th minute when captain Vincent Kompany went off with an injury, but they moved ahead on the stroke of half-time. David Silva strode forward and threaded a pass down the inside-right channel for Sergio Aguero, who rattled a low shot into the bottom-left corner.

A foul by Seamus Coleman on Pablo Zabaleta gave Aguero a chance to extend City's lead from the penalty spot in the 69th minute and although Howard turned his shot onto the post, the ball bounced against the American goalkeeper and into the net for an own goal.


Culled from Fifa.com

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