Everton manager Rafa Benitez hailed new signings Andros Townsend and Demarai Gray as they both scored in a 3-1 victory against Burnley on Monday to maintain his side’s impressive start to the new campaign.
The hosts, without the injured Dominic Calvert-Lewin, were struggling and trailing 1-0 to Ben Mee’s goal before three goals in six minutes turned the match on its head.
Winger Townsend, signed on as a free transfer from Crystal Palace, produced a pin-point cross to set up Michael Keane’s headed equalizer, and the former Crystal Palace winger then struck a sensational left-foot shot to put Everton ahead.
Photo: Reuters
Gray completed the turnaround when he slotted home after latching on to a pass by Abdoulaye Doucoure.
Everton have scored 10 goals in four games and are level on 10 points with leaders Manchester United, Chelsea and Liverpool.
“When we scored our goal, we had more confidence, played 4-3-3, created more chances and could have scored more goals,” Benitez said. “Really pleased with the connection between the team and the fans — we are looking to build a fortress here.”
Photo: Reuters
“Both Demarai Gray and Andros Townsend have quality and are good pros,” he said. “They are keen to learn, even Andros at his age. The main thing in this team, everyone said we needed wingers. Today, Richarlison did a great job also and the two wingers helped the striker do better.”
Former Leicester City winger Gray has scored in each of his past three appearances since joining from Bayer 04 Leverkusen and his price tag of ￡1.7 million (US$2.36 million) looks to be a bargain.
While it was a satisfying night in the end for Everton, Burnley’s poor start continues and they have only one point from their opening games, sitting in 18th place.
“A poor reaction to us scoring — we let them creep into the game and then a mad six minutes follow. You have to make things happen,” manager Sean Dyche said.
“I think it is a really good away performance until they score,” he said. “My big feeling is we are way wiser than those six minutes. That is something we have to learn from.”
The New Taipei Kings claimed the inaugural Taiwan Professional Basketball League (TPBL) championship on Sunday, defeating the Kaohsiung FamilyMart Aquas 108-89 in the final. Playing at home, the Kings pulled ahead with Jeremy Lin’s (林書豪) clutch three-pointers, securing their victory over the Aquas in the TPBL final. The Kings came out strong in the first quarter, dominating to build a 35-18 lead. By halftime, they had stretched their advantage to 61-38. In the third quarter, the Aquas narrowed the deficit to 12 points, but Lin stepped up, sinking several tough three- pointers to extend the lead. In the final quarter, the Kings pushed the
In an unlikely Ethiopian outpost of one the most French of pastimes, four men are leaning over their petanque balls, arguing over who is winning. Petanque, the bowling game also known as boules, is more readily associated with French village squares where locals launch metal balls at a jack while enjoying an afternoon drink, but for decades, it has also been a beloved pastime for members of a club near the iconic Meskel Square in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa. It was founded in the early 20th century to cater to French railway workers, who built a line connecting Addis Ababa
SEMI-FINAL SWEEP: Taiwanese are to take up all four berths in the men’s doubles semi-finals, while three Taiwanese women’s doubles pairings secured spots Taiwan’s badminton ace Chou Tien-chen stayed hot as he secured a semi-final berth in the men’s singles at the US Open at Council Bluffs, Iowa, on Friday. Chou entered the Super 300 tournament as the top seed and breezed past Victor Lai of Canada 21-19, 21-8 in 37 minutes, advancing to the semi-finals for the second straight tournament. Earlier this month, the 35-year-old veteran finished runner-up at the Indonesia Open, becoming the oldest male shuttler to reach a Super 1000-level final. He was set to face Ayush Shetty of India last night after press time for a spot in the final. Meanwhile, 22-year-old Taiwanese
Spain are the favorites to win the UEFA Women’s Euro 2025, but star player Aitana Bonmati’s illness ahead of the tournament raises another question mark around a side which, despite their obvious quality, are not unstoppable. Having claimed the last two Ballon d’Or awards, Barcelona midfielder Bonmati is the game’s biggest star at present, so her absence in the final days before the start of Euro 2025 is a major setback. The 27-year-old came down with a fever in training last week, and was subsequently hospitalized and diagnosed with viral meningitis. Bonmati was discharged on Sunday and joined up with
RSS