Everton and Luton Town claimed important victories as the relegation battle in the Premier League intensified on Saturday.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored the only goal of the game as Everton beat fellow strugglers Burnley 1-0 at Goodison Park. The hosts, who have already been docked six points for a Financial Fair Play breach, are four points clear of the drop zone but could be hit with another deduction on Monday when they discover their punishment for a second FFP offence.
Their joy at beating the Clarets in a turgid affair on Merseyside would have been tempered somewhat by news of Luton's 2-1 victory over Bournemouth at Kenilworth Road.
Carlton Morris struck the winner in injury time as Rob Edwards' side ended a 10-game wait for a victory. Marcus Tavernier had given Bournemouth the lead early in the second half but Jordan Clark restored parity with a 73rd-minute strike. The decisive goal came in dramatic fashion when Morris steered home from Cauley Woodrow's cross in the 90th minute.
Hatters boss Edwards said: "We spoke before the game about how important it was. You can guarantee effort, try to be organised and carry out a game plan but you can’t guarantee a win.
"The character we showed, we found the result when it as really important to do so. I thought the second-half performance was really good. There was a belief there. The subs made an impact. I’m really pleased."
Everton had Calvert-Lewin to thank as they too ended a long wait for a win. The striker broke a lengthy goal drought with an equaliser in the 1-1 draw at Newcastle in midweek and got his second goal in five days as he closed down Clarets keeper Arijanet Muric to force the winner.
His manager Sean Dyche said: "Strikers sometimes need an ugly goal – it wasn’t ugly, [Calvert-Lewin] did very well to close down the goalkeeper. He went close in a similar situation a few moments before. He has two in two now and it feels different for him.
"If you look at the season so far, it is what it is. I can only control the controllables. A lot of effort was put in by a lot of people today. We’ve got to capitalise on [the win] and step forwards."
Elsewhere, Aston Villa suffered a setback in their bid for Champions League football as they were held by Brentford in a rollercoaster 3-3 draw at Villa Park.
Ollie Watkins eventually rescued a point for Villa who had earlier raced into a 2-0 lead. Goals from Watkins and Morgan Rogers put the hosts on course for an important win but three goals in nine second-half minutes – from Mathias Jorgensen, Bryan Mbeumo and Yoana Wissa – turned the game on its head before Watkins' late leveller.
Wolves boss Gary O'Neil blasted "one of the worst decisions I have ever seen" as his side were beaten 2-1 by West Ham at Molineux. The hosts led through Pablo Sarabia's penalty but Lucas Paqueta also scored from the spot and James Ward-Prowse scored direct from a corner as the Hammers hit the front.
O'Neil was furious after Wolves were denied an equaliser in the ninth minute of stoppage time for an offside against Tawanda Chirewa, who was deemed to have impeded goalkeeper Lukasz Fabianski, as Max Kilman headed home.
Meanwhile, Bruno Guimaraes scored the winning goal as Newcastle beat Fulham 1-0 at Craven Cottage. The Brazilian struck late in the game meaning Newcastle are now one point shy of sixth-placed Manchester United in the race for Europa League football.
