DOMINIC CALVERT-LEWIN struck twice to give some respite to under-fire Everton boss Ronald Koeman.
The young forward, 20, scored either side of half-time and Oumar Niasse also netted to see off Championship Sunderland. It ended a horror run for the Toffees that had seen them lose four games on the bounce, scoring no goals and conceding 12 in the process.
And it eased the pressure on Koeman, who was facing a fans’ backlash after spending £150million on new players this summer — but still languishing in the Premier League’s bottom three.
The Toffees were not entirely convincing stopping the rot here, surviving a few scares as their former player James Vaughan passed up chances.
But fans will certainly be glad to have had something to cheer here, particularly with Calvert-Lewin showing the predatory instincts that have been lacking since Romelu Lukaku was sold to Manchester United.
There was also plenty of appreciation for Niasse’s contribution as the Senegal forward returned in style having been frozen out.
Koeman made eight changes from Sunday’s 4-0 defeat at United, with Wayne Rooney, two days on from pleading guilty to drink driving, and former Sunderland goalkeeper Jordan Pickford among the players watching from the stands. Black Cats boss Simon Grayson, whose side are 21st in the second tier, named a line-up that featured six changes and three former Everton players in Vaughan, Jack Rodwell and Darron Gibson.
With both sides’ shirts displaying the Bradley Lowery Foundation logo ahead of being signed and auctioned, it was the visitors who had the first real opportunity of the contest, Vaughan shooting wide from the edge of the box in the fifth minute after Muhamed Besic lost possession.
The hosts started to exert some pressure thereafter, with Nikola Vlasic firing a volley into the side-netting, Calvert-Lewin striking wide and Sandro Ramirez having a free-kick saved by Jason Steele. Vlasic subsequently cracked another shot narrowly off-target, but in truth, Everton looked as if they were struggling to find much rhythm until Calvert-Lewin broke the deadlock with seven minutes of the first half left.
The ball was worked from Vlasic, via Davy Klaassen, to Calvert-Lewin, who showed nice footwork as he kept his composure in the box amid a clutch of Sunderland players to slot past Steele.
The former Sheffield United man then doubled the advantage shortly after the break when he collected Sandro’s through-ball and struck confidently into the net.
Sunderland might have pulled a goal back but Vaughan missed the target twice with headers, either side of substitute Ademola Lookman being denied by a fine Steele double save.
Niasse, who had come on for Calvert-Lewin, then sealed Everton’s fourth-round spot with a flicked finish, having been set up by Tom Davies.
From The Sun
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