Turf Moor served up the footballing equivalent of Christmas Day leftovers on the 27th: still technically a meal, plenty of it around, but not much you’d choose to go back for. Burnley pushed, prodded and pressed with real intent, Everton absorbed and occasionally threatened, yet neither side found the one clean punch needed to turn endeavour into three points.
Burnley will wonder how they didn’t make home pressure count. Everton, depleted and disjointed, will be relieved to leave with a point and a clean sheet, even if David Moyes admitted afterwards it was the poorest he has seen from his team.
Burnley began with energy and purpose, playing on the front foot and forcing Everton into a scrappy, defensive rhythm early on. The home side won territory and second balls, got crosses into the box, and looked the likelier team to break the deadlock, but the final action never matched the build-up.
Everton’s best moments in the first half arrived in flashes rather than flow. With creativity reduced by absences, the visitors relied on isolated attacks and set-piece moments to create openings, without ever controlling the game for long spells.
The second half carried more edge. Burnley stepped it up, played with greater attacking intent and produced the game’s clearest opening, only to waste it. Everton responded with a brief spell of pressure and a couple of presentable chances of their own, but the match drifted back into the same familiar pattern: Burnley charging, Everton clinging on, both sides lacking a decisive touch in the final third.
Everton arrived short of key attacking options, with Jack Grealish missing out due to a virus over Christmas and other creative players also unavailable. Moyes acknowledged how much that blunted Everton’s threat.
“Missing Iliman and missing Kieran, we know we’re losing creativity, and without Jack as well doesn’t help,” he said.
Even so, Moyes was unhappy with far more than just availability. His assessment of the performance was brutally direct.
“It’s the worst I’ve seen us play… lots of the football wasn’t where it should be,” he said, adding later: “That was probably as poor as we played… the football wasn’t good enough.”
Burnley manager Scott Parker felt his side produced the level and intent needed to win, even if the finishing didn’t follow. He was adamant the overall performance was strong and stressed how tight Premier League games can be.
“We were excellent,” Parker said. “Fine margins of the Premier League and positives of where this group have been.”
Parker also pointed to Burnley’s recent run of displays, suggesting their performances are trending in the right direction.
“The last few performances have been pretty solid,” he added. And while the opening period set the tone, Parker was most pleased with how Burnley attacked after the interval, sensing his team played with extra purpose and aggression. “I’m happy with the attacking intent in the second half,” he said. “It was a different game to last week. We showed our quality today and I thought we were a team on full throttle trying to win the game.”
Key moments
- Burnley’s big second-half chance came and went, a moment the home crowd felt was the one that should have decided the match.
- Everton’s best spell followed, with a couple of efforts forcing Burnley’s goalkeeper into action as the visitors briefly threatened to steal it.
- Late drama arrived via penalty discussion, with Everton appealing for handball in the closing stages.
On that handball shout, Moyes suggested it may have been one that could have gone Everton’s way, but stressed he hadn’t seen a clear angle.
“Somebody showed me the one at the end… I think the boy puts his arm up against Jake O’Brien,” he said. “I couldn’t tell you if it hits his arm or not… They definitely could have been given, I think.”
In a match Moyes largely wanted to forget, he did pick out one positive: Tyler Dibling. The young winger showed glimpses, especially early on, and the manager was pleased with what he saw.
“He showed some bits today,” Moyes said. “He’s a young boy… I thought he showed some moments. First half probably more so… getting the minutes in as well was good.”
Moyes takes the point, even if he didn’t like the performance
For all the frustration, Everton leave with a clean sheet and a point from a ground that can be awkward, especially with a patched-up squad. Moyes made that clear even while criticising the display.
“Look, you get a clean sheet, you take a point away,” he said. “Burnley’s never been that easy to come to and get a result… maybe it’ll prove important later on in the season.”
Next up
Everton’s focus now flips quickly to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground on Tuesday 30 December (7:30pm GMT), with Moyes hopeful of a timely boost after Grealish’s illness.
“I’m hoping he’ll be back this week,” Moyes said of Grealish.
Burnley, meanwhile, are back in action at home to Newcastle United on Tuesday 30 December, as Parker looks to turn “excellent” performances into the points their league position demands.
