What the papers say

Conor Gallagher, 23, could be used to raise funds for new arrivals at Chelsea in January. The Daily Mail reports the club are willing to consider offers for the England midfielder with Brentford striker Ivan Toney, 27, and Napoli forward Victor Osimhen, 24, among the potential targets.

Brentford are looking for a new striker, regardless of whether Toney stays, according to The Daily Telegraph. USA international Brandon Vazquez, 25, who is at FC Cincinnati, is among the players in their sights.

Manchester United are open to offers on a string of internationals, according to The Guardian. England winger Jadon Sancho, 23, France striker Anthony Martial, 28, and defender Raphael Varane, 30, Brazil midfielder Casemiro, 31, and Dutch midfielder Donny van de Beek, 26, could all be allowed to leave Old Trafford in January.

David Moyes retains the confidence of West Ham says The Daily Telegraph. The 60-year-old manager saw his side lose 5-0 at Fulham on Monday.

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Mason Holgate: Everton want to recall the defender, 27, from his loan spell at Southampton due a shortage of playing time, reports The Sun.

Reuell Walters: Clubs in the Premier League and Europe are watching the English defender, 18, but Arsenal have held talks to keep him according to the Evening Standard.

Mauricio Pochettino believes Chelsea need more transfer window surgery in January to lift them out of the malaise which has left them 12th in the table and well adrift of Champions League qualification.

A 2-0 loss at Everton was their seventh Premier League defeat of the season and bridging the 14-point gap to Manchester City in fourth looks near-impossible for a side short of goals and consistency.

Chelsea have spent over £1billion in the last three transfer windows but many of those preceded Pochettino’s summer arrival and he wants his own players in to help kick-start his Stamford Bridge rejuvenation.

“This was a game to win. It’s a problem we need to check. We need to talk and to try and improve in the next transfer market,” he said.

“We are dealing with this. After five months, or the first half of the season, we need to check and that’s the reality. If we are not aggressive enough (on the pitch) maybe we need to do something.”

Asked specifically about the coming window he added: “Some movement. That’s a thing to analyse with the sporting director and the owner and see what we can do to change the dynamic and improve the second half of the season.

“Our reality now is mid-table and if we want to go up we have to push ourselves. When the transfer window opens (we will) see what we can do.

“I’m not saying I’m going to ask for more players or less players but it is to see if perception matches reality.

“If perception here (indicating one point on a line) and reality is here (indicating another point) then we are missing something in the middle. Sometimes it’s good, a reality check.

“It is a new project, a new team with too many circumstances against us. That’s the reality, too many problems and circumstances from the beginning of the season.

“It’s not as easy to build something new, that is why it is about being strong in that we assess and be clever and take decisions to try to improve in the second part of the season, to be more competitive and get the results a club like Chelsea deserves.”

Pochettino’s side had 72 per cent possession and had 16 shots but only four on target compared to Everton’s five on target from nine.

Despite their territorial dominance the visitors never really looked like troubling Jordan Pickford and goals from Abdoulaye Doucoure and substitute Lewis Dobbin, his first in the Premier League, gave Everton a third win in just over a week.

“We need to score if we want to win a game and be in a different position in the table because we played well and dominated the game against a difficult team in Everton and were much better than them but in the end you need to score,” added Pochettino, who lost full-backs Reece James and Marc Cucurella and goalkeeper Robert Sanchez to injury.

Everton boss Sean Dyche did not disagree with Pochettino’s assessment but revelled in the way his side kept them at arm’s length and then took opportunities when they came.

He said: “They are a very good team, without a shadow of doubt. Better in some ways. They kept the ball, they have technically-good players, have spent a fortune on players and he’s a top manager so I wouldn’t dispute his opinion.

“To find another way of winning against a side like Chelsea is very pleasing and under all that is a very firm mentality that is growing all the time.”

Everton’s second win in four days kept Sean Dyche’s side climbing the Premier League table as a toothless Chelsea found Goodison Park to be as difficult a place as Newcastle in a 2-0 defeat.

This may not have had the flourish of Thursday, when the hosts scored three goals in the last 11 minutes, but the manner of victory would have been no less pleasing to the Toffees boss.

Having kept the visitors at bay relatively comfortably, Abdoulaye Doucoure struck early in the second half and substitute Lewis Dobbin drilled home his first Premier League goal in added time as Everton moved four points clear of the bottom three despite their points deduction.

Chelsea had 71 per cent possession but familiar failings up front cost them and Mauricio Pochettino’s side have now won just twice in eight league games.

One downside to the afternoon for the hosts was fifth bookings of the season for defender Jarrad Branthwaite and midfielder Idrissa Gueye. The pair will be suspended for the trip to strugglers Burnley.

The loss of the former – excellent again in his partnership with James Tarkowski – will be a particular blow as Dyche is not blessed with centre-back options. Unused substitute Ben Godfrey’s only Premier League appearance came in the 89th minute in September while Michael Keane was not even in the matchday squad.

But this Everton team thrives on adversity, as they have shown since the 10-point deduction for breaching financial regulations last month.

Since being plunged into the bottom three following the punishment by an independent commission they have taken nine points from a possible 12.

Their extended run is 13 points from six with just one defeat and without the penalty Everton would be above their opponents in 10th.

The first half was significant only for injuries to both teams’ starting right-backs – Reece James and Ashley Young – a Cole Palmer booking for diving and Jordan Pickford saving the only shot on target from Palmer’s 20-yard curler.

Gueye was replaced by the fit-again Amadou Onana at half-time and buoyed by the confidence of Thursday’s win and the fact the visitors had not really hurt them, Everton set about formulating a response.

Winger Dwight McNeil, who has had a growing influence in recent games, had a low shot tipped around the post by Robert Sanchez before threading a pass through to Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Although the England international’s attempt was charged down by Sanchez, who clattered into the striker in the process and later departed injured, the loose ball rolled to Doucoure and he drilled home his fifth of the season.

Branthwaite’s foul and booking gave Chelsea a free-kick 20 yards out but Pickford comfortably held Palmer’s low, drilled effort.

Chelsea sent on Raheem Sterling and Nicolas Jackson to boost their attacking options but Pickford continued to be under-employed.

That was in part due to the increasing resilience of the defence in front of him, with bodies being thrown in all directions to keep out the threat.

“You can stick you points deduction up your a***” rang out in the closing stages at Goodison Park, where late substitute Dobbin wrapped up victory in the second minute of stoppage time.

Mauricio Pochettino admits midfield duo Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo need to improve after Chelsea’s poor start to the Premier League campaign.

The Blues’ recent 2-1 defeat at Manchester United kept them in 10th place, five points behind West Ham in ninth.

And Pochettino believes big-money signings Fernandez and Caicedo need to up their levels but acknowledged the two 22-year-olds’ development is a “process”.

Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League clash with Everton on Sunday, he said: “The relationship between them needs to improve of course, between them and individually also.

“They are young, the expectation is massive when you arrive.

“Caicedo had one season in Brighton and Enzo after three months in Europe, he was in Benfica before arriving to the Premier League. Arriving not in the best place to perform quick because they need to be part of the solution.

“They are not the cherry of the cake. When you arrive in a team that is in a building process and you’re young with not too much experience, even if you have good quality and people can see the club paid big money and only for that you need to perform, it is not like this in football.

“Some people think in this way because they don’t know about football. It’s a process.

“It’s going to be a process for different reasons. Chelsea are in a completely different reality in the last years and we need to attack this. We can’t live only thinking in the past.

“We need to keep the culture and understand we are in Chelsea and always it’s about winning, but the reality is completely different.”

Sunday’s opponents Everton are on a high after Wednesday’s 3-0 victory over Newcastle at Goodison Park.

And Pochettino identified Everton’s physical presence from set-pieces and called for his Chelsea players to play more cleverly.

He added: “It can be a problem, yes. But we need to be more aggressive and try to avoid conceding chances like corners or wide free-kicks.

“We need to be clever in the way we are going to work and try to stop them.

“Yes, it can be a problem but maybe no. In football, it’s the way you approach the game, the attitude and then being clever, trying to avoid giving the possibility to the opponents to use their strengths.”

Pochettino highlighted the challenges of keeping his players motivated after their inconsistent start to the campaign.

He said: “When you win it is easy, you jump to train.

“But when you have ups and downs it is really difficult to keep your balance because to translate the capacity to a player to keep pushing and assimilate and to keep the good mood around the training ground is the most difficult thing.

“Because the frustration, disappointment, sometimes in the way we concede, you become upset, angry. “

Mauricio Pochettino admitted the pressure to perform is massive at Chelsea after the Blues’ lacklustre performance during their 2-1 defeat at Manchester United.

The Blues failed to build on Sunday’s 3-2 victory over Brighton when they fell to Scott McTominay’s late header at Old Trafford on Wednesday.

The Chelsea boss acknowledged that the expectations on his shoulders are high, but reiterated that success is only a matter of time.

Speaking ahead of Chelsea’s Premier League clash at Everton on Sunday, Pochettino said: “We can not forget that we are at Chelsea and the pressure is massive. It is about to win and when we don’t win, we feel the pressure.

“That is why we know what we need to do and it’s a matter of time. Sometimes it’s six months and sometimes it’s a year, but we need to analyse the situation.

“We are building something that will pay off. We knew when we accepted this offer that it was going to be tough.”

Chelsea sit in 10th and have made little signs of improvements after last season’s bottom-half finish.

Former Argentina international Pochettino remained hopeful that his young team will eventually challenge for the top four.

“We are going to challenge (for top four),” he said.

“Maybe not now, but for sure in the future. Who knows, we hope as soon as possible, but for sure we are going to challenge.”

Sunday’s opponents Everton have won three out of their last four after their important 3-0 home win over Newcastle on Thursday.

Pochettino, who has only lost to Sean Dyche once in his career, is expecting a difficult challenge from the Toffees.

He added: “He manages in a different style and they can play in different ways.

“I think his teams are always aggressive and they play like Sean’s personality.

“He is aggressive, he’s brave and I think we are going to find a team who will press high and build from the back and be direct. It’s going to be interesting because it will be a massive challenge for us.

“We need to match the energy because they are a team who brings great energy.”

Everton’s were deducted 10 points for breaching Premier League financial rules last month.

Pochettino thinks the ruling was unfair and believes it has galvanised the atmosphere inside Goodison Park.

“In adversity you can build something special,” he said.

“When something like this happens it will unify everyone and make them feel part of the unfair decision.

“We are going to find a tough atmosphere and if we want to perform in the Premier League we have to deal with this.”

The latest round of Premier League fixtures brings the respective battles at both ends of the table into sharp focus.

Leaders Arsenal go head-to-head with surprise package Aston Villa and reigning champions Manchester City attempt to end a rare barren period at the top, while, towards the foot, Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper finds himself in the limelight for the wrong reasons.

Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the talking points surrounding the weekend’s games.

Familiar face

Mikel Arteta may not be pitch-side at Aston Villa on Saturday as he serves a touchline ban, but another Spaniard who is well known to Arsenal will be. Unai Emery was in charge at the Emirates Stadium between May 2018 and November 2019, when the Gunners dispensed with his services after a disappointing run of results. Emery returned to England in October last year and has since guided Villa into the top three, just four points adrift of his former employers at the top of the table and a genuine threat on home soil.

Timing is everything

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When Luton secured their promotion to the Premier League via last season’s Sky Bet Championship play-off final, their fans were able to dream of the days when English football’s aristocrats would head for Kenilworth Road. They could be forgiven for watching through their fingers when Manchester City make the trip on Sunday. City, for the first time in seven years, have not won in four league games, but the Hatters have managed only two top-flight victories all season. Few will give the hosts much chance of improving on that statistic this weekend.

Away the lads

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Newcastle travel to Tottenham on Sunday desperately searching for form away from St James’ Park. The Magpies, who won eight times on the road last season as they surged to a fourth-place finish, have collected three points away from Tyneside only once in seven attempts so far this season, courtesy of an 8-0 drubbing of Sheffield United. Spurs have lost their last three games on their own pitch to Chelsea, Aston Villa and West Ham. Something seemingly has to give.

Everton back in business

Everton’s response to the 10-point penalty which has left them fighting for their top-flight lives has been hugely impressive. Thursday night’s 3-0 victory over Newcastle – their fourth in six league outings – lifted them out of the bottom three and proved the perfect preparation for Chelsea’s visit to Goodison Park on Sunday. The Blues currently lie in 10th place with 19 points, one fewer than the total the Toffees would have had but for their punishment.

Cooper over a barrel?

Spare a thought for Nottingham Forest boss Steve Cooper. He has bullishly played down suggestions he could be out of a job if Forest lose a fifth successive league game when they head for Wolves on Saturday. The Welshman guided the club back into the Premier League at the end of the 2021-22 campaign and kept them there last season with four points to spare, the same margin they currently enjoy over the bottom three.

Kieran Trippier will not allow a nightmare evening at Everton to derail Newcastle’s season as they attempt to cure their bout of travel sickness.

The 33-year-old England full-back has been one of the stars of the Magpies resurgence since his arrival at St James’ Park in January last year, but two errors in quick succession at Goodison Park on Thursday evening handed first Dwight McNeil and then Abdoulaye Doucoure the chance to score as the Toffees surged to a 3-0 victory.

Eddie Howe’s injury-hit squad head for Trippier’s former club Tottenham on Sunday desperate for a response, and the hugely experienced defender is confident he can put a dark night firmly behind him.

He said: “I don’t hide. We’ve just got to move on now, we’ve got another big game in three days.

“Listen, it’s one of those where you’ve made mistakes. Players make mistakes – I’ve made a couple today, I hold my hands up, I take responsibility and now it’s about getting on the bike again and getting ready for another big game in three days against Spurs.

“For me personally, obviously I’m very disappointed because of my own actions in certain moments in the game, but that’s something I’ll deal with. I’m an experienced player and I can handle these things.

“But the best thing about it is there’s a game in three days where we can try to put it right.

“It’s another tough test, like every single game in the Premier League, but we can’t dwell on this result and like I said, we need to get on the bike and go again.”

Newcastle will head for north London having lost five of their 15 Premier League games this season, the same number as they did during the whole of the last campaign.

Four of those five defeats have come away from Tyneside – at Manchester City, Brighton, Bournemouth and Everton – with a remarkable 8-0 win at Sheffield United and 2-2 draws at West Ham and Wolves all they have to show for their efforts on the road.

There are mitigating factors – Howe had 12 senior players unavailable on Merseyside – but the head coach remains at a loss to explain the disparity in his team’s home and away performances.

He said: “That’s been the frustration for us because it’s a difficult one to work out. We want to play the same way, we want to impose ourselves on the game, grab the game and take the initiative.

“I don’t think we did that well enough against Everton. Hopefully that will change against Tottenham.”

Howe is hopeful of avoiding another addition to his lengthy casualty list after skipper Jamaal Lascelles limped off at Everton with a dead leg.

Everton boss Sean Dyche hailed the togetherness of his side after they beat Newcastle 3-0 to climb out of the Premier League relegation zone.

Dwight McNeil, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Beto scored in the final 11 minutes as the Toffees took the spoils at a raucous Goodison Park.

Dyche has emphasised the importance of team spirit since the club were hit by a 10-point deduction last month and he believes that was evident in their display.

Dyche said: “The performance level at home has been pleasing all season but you have got win games and you have got to score goals.

“We did that well. I thought it was another good performance, particularly first half against a good outfit.

“I have spoken about the mentality and I think you could sense there is a connected group. Everyone knew what they were doing, they just said, ‘Let’s get on it, let’s go out and play’.

“That’s when you know you are onto something. It doesn’t guarantee anything but I think we’re on to something.”

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe – who played down a post-match scuffle involving Joelinton, Anthony Gordon, James Tarkowski and Jordan Pickford as “just emotions” – was left to rue a missed opportunity to close the gap to the top four.

“The game was there for us to win in the second half after an even first half,” he said. “I don’t think we played particularly well.

“I thought we had them penned in and then conceded the first goal and that changed the momentum. It was a frustrating evening, a missed opportunity.

“It’s a difficult one for us to understand. Last year our away form was very good, we were free-scoring. This year haven’t got going on the road, apart from the Sheffield United game (an 8-0 victory).”

Howe refused to point the finger at Kieran Trippier after his mistakes presented Everton with their opening two goals.

“Kieran has been absolutely magnificent since he signed, the catalyst for a lot that happened. Collectively we were off our best.”

Howe has had to deal with a number of injuries this season – he has 12 players currently unavailable – but was not prepared to blame fatigue.

“I am in a difficult position to agree because if I do what is there to stop that happening again and again?” he said.

“There are reasons behind every performance. We have struggled to change our plans and have the attacking options we want. You can potentially do it for a short period of time but the longer it goes the harder it gets.”

Everton used the desire to right the perceived wrong against them to inflict Newcastle’s heaviest defeat of the season as a 3-0 victory in front of an equally fired-up Goodison Park moved the Toffees out of the relegation zone again.

With an appeal pending on the 10-point deduction for breach of financial regulations, manager Sean Dyche has said they have to continue to deliver on the pitch and they duly did with a rousing display against the top-four contenders.

Dwight McNeil, Abdoulaye Doucoure and substitute Beto all scored late on, making the most of another superb performance from centre-backs James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite, as Newcastle’s miserable away form extended to one win in the last nine games.

Without the deduction Everton would currently be 10th – just six points behind the visitors – rather than seven places worse off but this was the sort of performance which gives more power to the argument Dyche’s side will be just fine whether the deduction is reduced or not.

Newcastle’s England right-back Kieran Trippier had an evening to forget as his two errors, getting caught in possession by McNeil for the crucial first and hitting a clearance into Jack Harrison for the second, proved costly while former Toffee Anthony Gordon, booed throughout, played the final few moments with the taunts of the crowd ringing around the old ground.

McNeil’s goal, via a helpful deflection of Fabian Schar, was Everton’s 18th shot of game which looked like promising much but ultimately delivering little, as has been the case at Goodison Park this season, with this being only their second home league win in eight attempts.

Doucoure and then Beto, with his first Premier League goal deep into added time, kicked off wild celebrations – and late scuffles on the pitch after the final whistle.

A change in Everton’s formation with captain Seamus Coleman making his first appearance since a knee injury in April, saw Ashley Young moved into midfield with Jack Harrison in the hole behind the returning Dominic Calvert-Lewin, with Doucoure dropping into a deeper role due to James Garner’s illness.

However, there was no change to the pattern of home games this season as the hosts struggled to find the breakthrough.

McNeil rolled a shot wide of the post but Calvert-Lewin was the main protagonist and also chief culprit as, after forcing Martin Dubravka into a 20th-minute save from Harrison’s through-ball, he amazingly missed from five yards.

The England international controlled Branthwaite’s lobbed pass on his chest, swivelled but blazed a left-foot shot into the Park End, who earlier had continued the fans’ protests against the points deduction by holding up green cards declaring ‘Protecting the few, not the many’.

Newcastle were not much better with a weak Miguel Almiron shot and Alexander Isak header wide from close range the best they could offer.

Gordon had the chance to ratchet up the contempt with which he was held when gifted a chance to beat Jordan Pickford on the hour by Branthwaite’s mis-control but he shot straight at the England number one.

And Goodison sarcastically jeered when Gordon, now playing centrally, blazed over from an Isak counter-attack but the noise was even louder when McNeil finally made one of their chances count.

When Doucoure and Beto made the game safe the joy was unbridled but the niggly nature of the game meant was still time after the final whistle for a minor scuffle involving, among others Pickford, Joelinton and Gordon, while Schar left the pitch seemingly looking like he wanted to pick a fight with anyone who made eye contact.

Eddie Howe has backed Martin Dubravka to plug the sizeable gap left by Nick Pope as Newcastle’s first-choice goalkeeper faces up to four months on the sidelines.

Magpies head coach Howe’s worst fears over the shoulder injury which Pope suffered during Saturday night’s 1-0 Premier League win over Manchester United have been confirmed, with the 31-year-old due to undergo surgery which will sideline him for four months and leave him in a race against time to make England’s Euro 2024 squad.

However, the £10million man’s misfortune – he dislocated his left shoulder as he dived in an attempt to save a Sergio Reguilon shot – will open the door for his deputies Dubravka, Loris Karius and Mark Gillespie with the Slovakia international, who came off the bench at the weekend, the man first in line to replace him starting at Everton on Thursday evening.

Howe said: “We really believe in Martin and I’ve always had that high opinion of him.

“Yes, we brought in Nick – we wanted to build competition for places, we wanted to build a squad that we felt could really carry us to great success – but Martin is a high-class goalkeeper.

“He’s a brilliant shot-stopper himself, he’s very good with his feet and his distribution, so no hesitation about bringing Martin into the team and I hope he does really well.”

Newcastle have been linked with a move for former Manchester United keeper David de Gea in recent days, but Howe insisted no approaches have been made.

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He said: “We have not made any inquiries or any decisions about our recruitment leading into January.

“This is a chance for the goalkeepers we have at the football club to consolidate their positions, and that will be the same for every other position at the club.”

Howe had earlier confirmed that Pope is awaiting a final decision on the way forward, but that surgery was inevitable.

He said: “We anticipate he’ll be operated on – there’s no doubt he needs an operation – so he will be out for a period of time.

“The operation hasn’t happened yet, but we’re thinking roughly around four months, so it’s a big blow to us, but one that we expected after the game.

“He’s naturally down because at this stage of the season where we have so many games, huge games coming up – he’s got, obviously, the Euros ahead of him as well, which he was determined to try to be involved in, and there’s still chance of that for him.

“But I think his main determination is to come back for us, and you never know what situation we’ll be in at that stage of the season, so it could be a lot worse for him.”

What the papers say

Former Manchester United goalkeeper David de Gea, 33, is keen on joining Newcastle United after first choice Nick Pope suffered a shoulder injury which will keep him out for four months, reports the Daily Telegraph. The Daily Mirror says Arsenal’s Aaron Ramsdale, 25, could be another option in January.

Manchester United are eyeing a move for AC Milan goalkeeper Mike Maignan, 28, according to The Sun via Foot Mercato. Andre Onana, who replaced de Gea in the summer, has yet to convince as United’s first-choice stopper.

One player who could be staying at Manchester United is Raphael Varane. The Manchester Evening News says the 30-year-old France defender is keen to stay at Old Trafford beyond the January transfer window.

Juventus could make a bid to sign England midfielder Kalvin Phillips on loan from Manchester City in January, reports the Metro. The 28-year-old has also been linked with Newcastle

Social media round-upPlayers to watch

Jake O’Brien: Everton are looking at Lyon’s Irish defender, 22, according to French outlet Footmercato.

Mathys Tel: Several Premier League teams are keen on Bayern Munich’s 18-year-old striker, reports Bild in Germany.

Sean Dyche said Everton’s 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest has given the club and their fans a big lift after they were docked 10 points for breaching Premier League financial rules.

Dwight McNeil struck the only goal in the second half at the City Ground, slamming home his first of the season following Jack Harrison’s far-post cross.

It sealed Everton victory in their second match since being handed the punishment and a day after they submitted their formal appeal against the severity of it.

Dyche said: “We spoke to the players. They were very open about it. They all agreed they were ready to take it on and they have done so far.

“So to get that first win after that news is very pleasing. It blows belief into the fans, into the group, into the players because they still have to look at the league table at some point.

“We still have to wait and see what the appeal will bring, so in the meantime we’ve got to get on with business like we are doing.”

Everton’s third win in five league games lifted them to within two points of safety, having started the evening kick-off in bottom place after Burnley’s win against Sheffield United.

“People are suggesting it’s a good time to get 10 points taken,” Dyche added.

“Well if they are, I tell you what, I’ll do a deal. I’ll have their 10 points, they can have the ones we got taken off us and we’ll see where we all end up.

“I don’t think it’s quite as simple as that, but the key for us is to not really worry about all the different conjecture, all the stories, all the noise and stay focused on the bit we can control and that’s our performances.”

Forest have slipped to three straight league defeats and back-to-back home losses to crank up the pressure on boss Steve Cooper.

His side have won just one of their last 10 league games, but they struck a post through substitute Felipe’s second-half effort and created several other chances.

Cooper said: “The one real chance they’ve had, he’s taken it really well. The ones we’ve had, we’ve not shown enough of the quality you need at this level to score goals.”

Cooper felt his side had a good case for a penalty when Ryan Yates went down under Abdoulaye Doucoure’s challenge from the corner which led to Felipe’s effort.

He added: “The other real talking point is the difference in decision-making over penalties, with Doucoure on Yates compared to the one which was given against us last week.

“I won’t hide behind the decision with the result – just like I didn’t last week – but if last week was a penalty, then it has to be one today.

“We’ve had two very experienced referees in the last two games and they couldn’t be any further away from being consistent in those moments.”

Dwight McNeil’s second-half goal clinched Everton a 1-0 win at Nottingham Forest and lifted them off the foot of the Premier League table.

Everton had slipped to the bottom before the late kick-off at the City Ground after Burnley’s win against relegation rivals Sheffield United.

But McNeil lashed home the only goal to clinch Everton a morale-boosting victory one day after the club lodged their appeal against their 10-point deduction for breaching the Premier League’s financial rules.

Everton, who have not lost at the City Ground since 1995, notched their third win in five league matches to climb to within two points of safety while Forest slipped to a third straight defeat and back-to-back home losses.

Wayward finishing and heroic defending ensured a goalless first half as both sides spurned scoring chances.

Everton should have broken the deadlock in the 23rd minute, with Beto blazing over an empty net when he looked odds-on to register his first Premier League goal.

Forest goalkeeper Odysseas Vlachodimos dropped a cross after tangling with team-mate Willy Boly but Beto, back in the starting line-up for the first time since September in place of the injured Dominic Calvert-Lewin, fired off target.

Forest had made the better start but came under siege for a prolonged spell in the first period and were also indebted to Murillo. The Brazilian defender cleared McNeil’s angled shot off the goal line and needed treatment after falling awkwardly into the net.

Anthony Elanga had earlier pulled a low shot wide for Forest, who could have snatched the lead in first-half stoppage time through Morgan Gibbs-White but he fired into the side netting after being played in by Ibrahim Sangare.

Forest made a fast start to the second half, with substitute Felipe soon in the thick of the action.

His shot following a goalmouth scramble clipped a post and moments later the Brazilian was booked for hauling down McNeil outside his own area.

Ryan Yates had gone to ground under Doucoure’s challenge following the corner which had led to Felipe’s effort, but Forest’s penalty appeals were waved away and they fell behind soon after.

Jack Harrison’s cross from the right picked out McNeil at the far post and he took one touch before rifling his first goal of the season into the far corner.

McNeil raced in on goal shortly after but was thwarted by Serge Aurier’s last-ditch tackle and Forest went close to an equaliser when Elanga rounded Jordan Pickford only to shoot into the side netting from a tight angle.

Pickford rescued Everton in the 81st minute when racing out of his goal to deny Elanga and saved well again from Murillo’s fierce effort.

Forest poured forward in search of a late equaliser but Elanga’s shot curled inches wide and at the final whistle soon after, Everton’s travelling fans burst into a chorus of We Shall Not Be Moved.

The European Super League project may come back with a vengeance if the Premier League punishes leading clubs like Manchester City and Chelsea over alleged breaches of financial rules.

That is the view of finance expert Dan Plumley, who says the threat of Europe's elite clubs forming a breakaway competition is unlikely to ever go away.

Everton dropped into the Premier League's relegation zone after being deducted 10 points for a breach of the league's profit and sustainability rules earlier this month, with an independent commission ruling the Toffees exceeded the competition's maximum loss limit by £19.5million across four seasons between 2018 and 2022.

That penalty – the largest in the competition's history – has been fiercely protested by fans and has led to questions regarding other clubs' financial practices.

The Premier League is investigating City over 115 alleged breaches of the competition's rules, while Chelsea's finances are also being examined following allegations of secret payments made by companies belonging to former owner Roman Abramovich.

Some have suggested those clubs could face huge points deductions or even expulsion if found guilty, but Plumley believes that could push them back into the arms of the Super League.

"I don't think the European Super League will ever go away. I think we've seen that time and time again," Plumley told Stats Perform. 

"It was the closest it's ever been to fruition in 2021, we know the backlash there but it's never off the table. You've seen the wider narrative in the European football landscape, and my take was that it would always come back around. 

"It will be particularly dependent on what the Champions League looks like and the Champions League broadcasting revenues and reformat of that competition. So broadly speaking, I don't think it's off the table."

Both City and Chelsea were involved in the widely despised Super League project, which collapsed under pressure from fans, media and players in 2021.

Plumley is certain the Premier League will be in self-preservation mode when it comes to ruling on cases involving those clubs, saying: "I think the Premier League will be mindful of that. 

"They know there is a lot of power held by those big clubs and their ownership structures and the people that are in that mix. They know that the threat of a Super League is still there. 

"I do think that will be a factor in this, whether we like it or not. It will be there in the background of the considerations. 

"There is that argument, in the same way as in the Champions League, that if the bigger clubs don't get what they want, or feel that they're being too heavily penalised, you can probably bet that a conversation about a European Super League will come back around. 

"I think it would probably have come around anyway, but this kind of stuff might accelerate that. It might make it move quicker, but I don't think it was ever off the table."

Manchester City are at risk of being relegated and having their Premier League titles stripped if found guilty of financial breaches, according to finance expert Dan Plumley.

Everton received a 10-point deduction, the largest penalty in Premier League history, and one that dropped them into the bottom three, for breaches of profit and sustainability rules.

It has also raised many questions over the potential punishment of City, who were charged with 115 financial breaches of the Premier League's rules back in February. It still remains unclear as to how severe their penalty will be, or if they will be punished at all, should they be found guilty.

Plumley, a football finance expert, believes all punitive measures are "on the table", with Everton's harsh deduction a potential benchmark that will be used to judge future penalties.

When asked if City could be stripped of titles or even relegated, Plumley told Stats Perform: "In terms of possibility, the answer is yes. I think there is a possibility of all of those things. But all of those things were on the table before the Everton verdict as well.

"That's what is in the Premier League's governance framework, it's within their remit. They deploy the sanctions and the sanctions range from financial penalties, in terms of fines, to sporting penalties in terms of deductions, or relegation, or stripping of titles.

"All of those things are within the arc of what the Premier League can do. We're looking for benchmarks, and we're looking for precedent. I don't think anything is fully off the table."

Many have been left questioning why Everton's case was resolved so quickly, while City's continues to rumble on with the club seemingly able to indefinitely push their punishment back.

Plumley pointed to the scale and breadth of City's charges as the reason for the drawn-out investigation, saying: "It's because of the volume of allegations in that mix and there were a lot of cases to consider.

"The Manchester City case is a total number of 115 allegations that the Premier League have put against them. [They are] obviously linked to a bigger time period, which is why it's taking so long as well.

"A lot of those are linked to the profit and sustainability regulations, but there are other things that are in the mix as well. And if you contrast that with Everton's case, it's a much longer-term list of allegations. It stretches back to the last 10 years of profit and sustainability regulations.

"They are two very different cases. And it will be interesting to see how the Premier League and any independent commission approach the Manchester City case versus the Everton case because the two were not like-for-like in direct comparison."

Plumley would like to see these financial cases resolved quicker, and highlighted the potential lawsuits heading Everton's way from recently relegated clubs such as Leeds United and Leicester City as a reason to make that a priority.

"A lot of people and myself included, have always stated that those punishments should be dealt with in real time," Plumley explained. "And the evidence probably could have been applied a couple of years ago and has dragged a little bit.

"I think moving forward, it's really important that if we're going to start to put the sanctions in place, that the real-time aspect of that becomes critical.

"Because that might hurt in the short term, but it can save a lot of chaos in the long term because now you're in a situation with Everton where you've potentially got clubs claiming against them for years gone by."