Everton edge Baggies in five-goal thriller at The Hawthorns
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Everton’s sensational 3-2 comeback at The Hawthorns shocked West Bromwich Albion and saw the Toffees move up to fifth in the Premier League, though not before Saido Berahino had given the hosts the lead just before half-time.
Not long after the restart, it went from bad to worse for Roberto Martinez’ men when Craig Dawson nodded in to double their advantage to the delight of a raucous home crowd.
However, immediately the after, the response was almost like a sucker punch. Prolific Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku, who previously spent time on loan at The Hawthorns, responded to head in a centre from Spain cap Gerard Deulofeu.
Lukaku was at the centre of things again as he set up Arouna Kone, with the Ivorian forward firing level, to set up a nervy finish.
Deulofeu was integral again for the winner as he exchanged passes with Lukaku, enabling the £28m man to strike from close range and break Baggies hearts.
The result caps a great start to the season for the Merseyside outfit, who have also beaten champions Chelsea 3-1 at Goodison Park earlier in the campaign.
Following the final whistle, Martinez said: “We were very disappointed with the first half. We were off, every single individual.
“The mountain we had to climb, it would have been easy to lose focus but we got three goals against the best defensive structure in the Premier League.
“Every three points is huge but it feels extra good. Deulofeu took extra responsibility, he wanted the ball all night and it was a real mature performance.”
Baggies boss Tony Pulis added: “The first goal kills us. We should deal with it. The other two goals are poor goals – the second one looks offside, the linesman is looking the wrong side. It’s a poor decision.
“It’s really, really disappointing because before we scored the second goal we had some good chances. We switched off and Everton will punish you.”
