How Everton's win over Nottingham Forest affects Premier League relegation battle
Everton moved five points clear of the Premier League relegation zone after surviving three penalty appeals against Ashley Young to secure a vital win over Nottingham Forest
by Felix Keith · The MirrorEverton took a huge step towards ensuring their Premier League status by beating relegation rivals Nottingham Forest 2-0 on Sunday afternoon.
Idrissa Gueye snuck a long-range effort into the bottom corner to give them the lead before Ashley Young survived three separate penalty appeals. Young kicked Giovanni Reyna inside the box before the ball struck his hand from Callum Hudson-Odoi’s cross, but both appeals were dismissed by VAR in the first half.
The veteran right-back then appeared to have caught Hudson-Odoi inside the area, yet VAR deemed he had won the ball. Forest were then sickened as Dwight McNeil let fly from distance and saw his low shot go into the net off the inside of the post.
Everton were desperate for a response, having been thrashed 6-0 by Chelsea in their last outing. That humiliation prompted a frank response from James Tarkowski, who admitted he was embarrassed and apologised to fans. Just six days later and they have secured a gigantic three points on their quest to remain a top-flight side.
Sean Dyche’s side are now on 30 points – five clear of Luton in the final relegation place, despite having been deducted eight for breaching the Premier League’s profit and sustainability rules. They also have a game in-hand on Forest, Luton and Burnley.
It has been a very bad weekend for Forest and Luton, who have both suffered damaging defeats. While Forest went down at Goodison Park, Luton were thrashed 5-1 at home by Brentford, who pulled away from danger with a second straight victory to move onto 35 points in 15th place.
Burnley picked up an absolutely vital win in their bid to avoid the drop, beating bottom side Sheffield United 4-1 at Bramall Lane. Vincent Kompany's side have left it late, but are in some form, having lost just one of their last seven matches in the Premier League. Burnley have some tricky fixtures coming up however.
Premier League relegation battle
16th - Everton - P33 - 30pts
17th - Nottingham Forest - P34 - 26pts
18th - Luton Town - P34 - 25pts
19th - Burnley - P34 - 23pts
20th - Sheffield United - P33 - 16 pts
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Everton have to play rivals Liverpool and Arsenal, but also have winnable matches against Brentford, Luton and Sheffield United to come. Forest have to play defending champions Manchester City and Chelsea before a potential showdown with Burnley on the final day of the season.
Sheffield United still have five games left to complete the biggest turnaround in Premier League history, but no-one - not even manager Chris Wilder - really believes that can happen, with 10 points between them and safety. Scroll down to see the remaining fixtures in the relegation battle.
Everton’s remaining fixtures
April 24 – Liverpool (H)
April 27 – Brentford (H)
May 3 – Luton (A)
May 11 – Sheffield United (H)
May 19 – Arsenal (A)
Nottingham Forest’s remaining fixtures
April 28 – Man City (H)
May 4 – Sheffield United (A)
May 11 – Chelsea (H)
May 19 – Burnley (A)
Luton’s remaining fixtures
April 27 – Wolves (A)
May 3 – Everton (H)
May 11 – West Ham (A)
May 19 – Fulham (H)
Burnley’s remaining fixtures
April 27 – Manchester United (A)
May 4 – Newcastle (H)
May 11 – Tottenham (A)
May 19 – Nottingham Forest (H)
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