Despite battling to a hard-earned point against Manchester City on Saturday, Everton came into the contest without a win in their previous six games. Alex Iwobi looked to remedy that inside the opening five minutes, as he went close to getting his side off to the perfect start, but Robert Sánchez dived low down to his left to push the ball away from danger.
After keeping Iwobi at bay, Brighton wasted little time in threatening Jordan Pickford’s goal with Kaoru Mitoma heading over the crossbar after meeting Solly March’s lofted cross. Mitoma quickly made up for his miss in the 14th minute when he drove inside from the left flank before slotting the ball past Pickford to become just the third Japanese player to score in two straight PL appearances. Moments later, the Japan international nearly turned provider, with his deflected low cross finding Evan Ferguson, who swept the ball onto the post.
The Seagulls took a narrow lead into HT, but before the hour mark, that slender advantage had transformed into a monumental one as Everton capitulated to ship three goals in six minutes. Jeremy Sarmiento’s neat footwork allowed him to lay the ball into the path of Ferguson, who marked his full debut with a close-range effort, before Solly March added a third with a precise strike into the bottom corner. The travelling support were celebrating once again when Idrissa Gueye’s wayward pass allowed Pascal Groß to drive into the box and lift the ball calmly over the onrushing Pickford to spark a barrage of boos from the home faithful.
After scoring four goals in a top-flight away game for the first time in their history, Brighton moved down the gears as the contest drifted towards its conclusion. Demarai Gray netted a late consolation from the spot after Sánchez fouled Iwobi, but the late strike will do little to prevent serious questions being asked of Lampard, with Everton just one point clear of the drop zone.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Evan Ferguson (Brighton & Hove Albion)
