Everton beat West Ham to end losing run and ease pressure on coach Marco Silva

Updated: May 17, 2023, 05:19 am

Everton snapped a four-game losing streak on Saturday as Bernard's superb solo goal in the first half and midfielder Gylfi Sigurdsson's stunner in added time helped the struggling Premier League side beat West Ham 2-0 at Goodison Park.

The Merseyside club were rewarded for a bright start in the 17th minute when Brazilian Bernard twisted and turned inside the penalty area before poking in from a tight angle, having been played through by Theo Walcott.

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Substitute Sigurdsson sealed the win in the 92nd minute with a fierce, curled shot that flew past goalkeeper Roberto Jiminez into the top corner.

The result eased the pressure on Toffees manager Marco Silva and saw Everton climb out of the bottom three.

Everton came into the match on the back of four consecutive league defeats that had turned up the heat on Silva, but there was little to suggest they were lacking confidence despite missing several chances to further improve the scoreline.

Walcott, one of five changes to the team from Everton's last game against Burnley, struck the crossbar with a blistering volley in the 64th minute after Lucas Digne's free kick was headed away by West Ham's Angelo Ogbonna, and Alex Iwobi missed a clear chance in the 77th minute as he shot straight at the keeper from close range.

"The game felt like we needed to start taking our chances, we had so many," Walcott said.

"The sense of urgency was what we needed. It showed how good we can be going forward. We know the quality in the team and we know what to expect from each other."

Portuguese Silva has faced criticism for rigid tactics in recent weeks, but his decision to deploy Richarlison as a striker paid off as the Brazil international troubled West Ham throughout and had a goal ruled out for offside after the break.

West Ham boss Manuel Pellegrini brought on Ukraine forward Andriy Yarmolenko in place of Felipe Anderson at the start of the second half and although the London side appeared a lot sharper, they were unable to score.

Everton, who have 10 points from their opening nine games and provisionally rose to 12th in the table, visit Brighton & Hove Albion next Saturday while West Ham, in eighth with 12 points, host promoted Sheffield United.