Richarlison has now scored six goals in his past six games for Everton
Everton continued their push for European football by beating struggling West Bromwich Albion at The Hawthorns.
Richarlison scored for the fourth Premier League game in a row, heading past home goalkeeper Sam Johnstone after a cross from substitute Gylfi Sigurdsson, who had only been on the pitch for 43 seconds.
West Brom had been the better team in the first half but England keeper Jordan Pickford made an excellent save to keep out Mbaye Diagne's second-minute header.
Diagne thought he had grabbed a 93rd-minute equaliser when he controlled a pass and shot into the net, but he was denied because he was narrowly offside, with the video assistant referee (VAR) confirming the on-field decision.
This win takes Everton up from seventh to fourth - the last Champions League qualifying place - although the Toffees will drop back to fifth if there is a winner in Thursday's late game between Liverpool and Chelsea.
West Brom are 19th, in the relegation zone and nine points behind 17th-placed Newcastle United, who they host on Sunday.
- West Brom v Everton as it happened, plus reaction, analysis and the rest of Thursday's Premier League actionLawro's predictions v DJ & producer Majestic
Ancelotti's Everton continue to get results
Everton have been English champions on nine occasions but since the launch of the Premier League for the 1992-93 season, have only finished in the top four once - in 2004-05.
Indeed, they have never played in the group stage of the Champions League, missing out in 2005-06 after a 4-2 aggregate loss to Spanish side Villarreal in the third qualifying round.
However, with 12 league games to go, Carlo Ancelotti's team have a great chance to be playing alongside the continent's elite next season.
Thursday's win continues a remarkable turnaround for the Toffees, who were in the Premier League relegation zone under Marco Silva in December 2019, before he was sacked and caretaker boss Duncan Ferguson lifted them out of the bottom three, with Ancelotti then continuing that progress.
Instrumental in Everton's revival has been Dominic Calvert-Lewin and the England striker, who scored a hat-trick in the Toffees' 5-2 win over West Brom at Goodison Park in September, had their best chance of the first half.
A fortunate deflection took the ball into his path but he shot against Johnstone's legs from 12 yards with only the keeper to beat.
Richarlison also had a first-half chance but a superb challenge from Darnell Furlong denied the Brazilian, as the deflection took the shot narrowly over the top.
But the forward was not to be denied later on when he got in front of Johnstone to meet Sigurdsson's cross from the left and powerfully head home from close range.
The result also continues Everton's fine away record - they have now won nine of 13 league games on the road this season.
Baggies perform well, but fail to pick up a point
West Brom had come into this game on an unbeaten run of three games, with clean sheets in their past two, and they will surely feel they deserved something from this game.
They thought they had got a point in injury time, when Diagne superbly controlled the ball and fired past Pickford - but the assistant referee raised his flag and the VAR footage showed he was offside by under a foot.
Manager Sam Allardyce has managed seven other clubs in the Premier League - including Everton - but never been relegated from the top flight, although this will surely be one of the best achievements of his career if he can keep the Baggies up.
He replaced the sacked Slaven Bilic after West Brom had picked up seven points from their opening 13 games, but they have now only gained an additional 10 points in Allardyce's 14 games in charge.
However, he should be pleased with his side's performance on Thursday.
Diagne was their main threat but was denied by Pickford in the second minute, then later shot over on the turn and also headed just off target following Furlong's long throw.
Those missed chances proved costly as Richarlison's goal proved the difference and gave Everton the three points.
More to follow.
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Rate players out of 10 throughout or after the game. The rater will close 30 minutes after the final whistle.
Rating range key1 = Give it up10 = Pure perfection
- West BromWest Bromwich AlbionWest Bromwich AlbionEvertonEvertonEverton
West Bromwich AlbionStarting XIAvgSquad number1Player nameJohnstoneAverage rating
5.68
12345678910Squad number2Player nameFurlongAverage rating
5.61
12345678910Squad number27Player nameO'SheaAverage rating
7.04
12345678910Squad number5Player nameBartleyAverage rating
5.58
12345678910Squad number14Player nameTownsendAverage rating
5.62
12345678910Squad number35Player nameYokusluAverage rating
5.89
12345678910Squad number12Player nameMatheus PereiraAverage rating
5.75
12345678910Squad number18Player nameGallagherAverage rating
5.87
12345678910Squad number30Player nameMaitland-NilesAverage rating
6.12
12345678910Squad number10Player namePhillipsAverage rating
5.67
12345678910Squad number17Player nameDiagneAverage rating
6.06
12345678910SubstitutesAvgSquad number4Player nameRobson-KanuAverage rating
4.96
12345678910Squad number23Player nameSnodgrassAverage rating
5.12
12345678910Share your West Brom player ratings withFacebookTwitterWhatsAppCopy and share linkEvertonStarting XIAvgSquad number1Player namePickfordAverage rating
6.03
12345678910Squad number4Player nameHolgateAverage rating
5.73
12345678910Squad number5Player nameKeaneAverage rating
6.35
12345678910Squad number22Player nameGodfreyAverage rating
6.54
12345678910Squad number17Player nameIwobiAverage rating
5.07
12345678910Squad number16Player nameDoucouréAverage rating
5.69
12345678910Squad number21Player nameAndré GomesAverage rating
5.59
12345678910Squad number12Player nameDigneAverage rating
6.09
12345678910Squad number20Player nameBernardAverage rating
5.61
12345678910Squad number9Player nameCalvert-LewinAverage rating
6.11
12345678910Squad number7Player nameRicharlisonAverage rating
6.77
12345678910SubstitutesAvgSquad number6Player nameAllanAverage rating
6.48
12345678910Squad number10Player nameG SigurdssonAverage rating
7.05
12345678910Squad number11Player nameKingAverage rating
5.80
12345678910Share your Everton player ratings withFacebookTwitterWhatsAppCopy and share link
- Line-upsMatch StatsLive Text
Line-upsWest Brom
Formation 4-1-4-1
1Johnstone2Furlong27O'Shea5Bartley14Townsend35Yokuslu12Costa Pereira18Gallagher30Maitland-Niles10Phillips17Diagne
- 1Johnstone2FurlongBooked at 68mins27O'SheaBooked at 60mins5Bartley14Townsend35YokusluBooked at 82mins12Costa Pereira18GallagherSubstituted forRobson-Kanuat 78'minutes30Maitland-Niles10PhillipsSubstituted forSnodgrassat 78'minutes17Diagne
Substitutes
- 4Robson-Kanu6Ajayi7Robinson8Livermore19Sawyers22Peltier23Snodgrass25Button29Grant
Everton
Formation 3-4-1-2
1Pickford4Holgate5Keane22Godfrey17Iwobi16Doucouré21André Gomes12Digne20Bernard9Calvert-Lewin7Richarlison
- 1Pickford4HolgateBooked at 37mins5Keane22Godfrey17IwobiSubstituted forAllanat 58'minutes16DoucouréSubstituted forG Sigurdssonat 64'minutes21André Gomes12Digne20BernardSubstituted forKingat 84'minutes9Calvert-Lewin7Richarlison
Substitutes
- 6Allan10G Sigurdsson11King18Nkounkou31Neves Virgínia34Broadhead53Tyrer62Onyango
Referee:Darren EnglandMatch StatsHome TeamWest BromAway TeamEvertonPossessionHome48%Away52%ShotsHome11Away11Shots on TargetHome3Away3CornersHome3Away3FoulsHome9Away7Live TextPost update
Match ends, West Bromwich Albion 0, Everton 1.
90'+6'Full Time
Second Half ends, West Bromwich Albion 0, Everton 1.
90'+4'Post update
VAR Decision: No Goal West Bromwich Albion 0-1 Everton.
90'+3'Post update
Offside, West Bromwich Albion. Ainsley Maitland-Niles tries a through ball, but Mbaye Diagne is caught offside.
89'Post update
Foul by André Gomes (Everton).
89'Post update
Okay Yokuslu (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick on the right wing.
85'Post update
Attempt blocked. Matheus Pereira (West Bromwich Albion) left footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Okay Yokuslu.
85'Post update
Attempt blocked. Matheus Pereira (West Bromwich Albion) right footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Hal Robson-Kanu.
84'Substitution
Substitution, Everton. Joshua King replaces Bernard.
83'Post update
Michael Keane (Everton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
83'Post update
Foul by Mbaye Diagne (West Bromwich Albion).
82'Booking
Okay Yokuslu (West Bromwich Albion) is shown the yellow card for a bad foul.
82'Post update
Bernard (Everton) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
82'Post update
Foul by Okay Yokuslu (West Bromwich Albion).
81'Post update
Attempt blocked. Robert Snodgrass (West Bromwich Albion) left footed shot from the right side of the box is blocked.
80'Post update
Corner, West Bromwich Albion. Conceded by Mason Holgate.
79'Post update
Foul by Richarlison (Everton).
79'Post update
Matheus Pereira (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
78'Substitution
Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. Robert Snodgrass replaces Matt Phillips.
78'Substitution
Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. Hal Robson-Kanu replaces Conor Gallagher.
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Source: bbc.com