Match Report

Everton booked their place in the last eight of the Carabao Cup for the second year running as Dominic Calvert-Lewin grabbed his second hat-trick of the nascent season to propel the Toffees to another handsome win.

The striker followed up his treble against West Bromwich Albion 11 days ago with three more goals that put the tie to bed after Robert Snodgrass had curled the Hammers back to parity in the first minute of the second half. Richarlison grabbed the other and had another ruled out for offside as Everton comfortably advanced to the next round.

The victory was marred by three injuries on the night, however, and Carlo Ancelotti will anxiously await the results of scans of the damage sustained by Richarlison and Allan in particular, as vital first-choice players, while Jonjoe Kenny will also need to be assessed after awkwardly rolling his ankle in the first half.

Ancelotti had named another strong line-up, keeping his in-form strike force intact but this time adding James Rodriguez for his cup debut and Allan in midfield alongside Gylfi Sigurdsson and Fabian Delph. Niels Nkounkou and Kenny continued as the full-backs with Lucas Digne putting in another impressive display at centre-half partnering Michael Keane. Anthony Gordon missed out with illness while Ancelotti said Moise Kean was unavailable because he "wasn't feeling good".

Keane had impressed over the first few games for his defensive work but after Felipe Anderson had fired the first salvo with a low drive in the seventh minute that Jordan Pickford saved, the England defender turned away from his man expertly before delivering a peach of a ball over the top to set Calvert-Lewin for his first goal of the evening.

The striker pulled the defender's pass over the top out of the air with jaw-dropping control and then stroked the ball past Darren Randolph to make it 1-0 with 11 minutes gone.

It was almost 2-0 with 20 minutes gone when Allan put Richarlison through into space but after the latter Brazilian had driven his way between two defenders and prodded goal-wards, he was foiled by a terrific one-handed save by Randolph who palmed it onto the roof of the net.

Two minutes later, Richarlison thought he had got his goal when a lovely Everton move was finished off by James's sublime defensive-splitting pass but while the Blues' No.7 slotted the ball between the goalkeeper's legs, the referee's assistant raised his flag for narrow offside.

Just after the half-hour mark, Calvert-Lewin raced onto another good ball forward from Rodriguez but blazed over before the visitors tried to press their way back into the game in lead-up to half-time.

Kenny covered well to block a powerful low cross from the West Ham left but his foot buckled as he planted it into the turf and he was left writing in pain before hobbling off to be replaced by Seamus Coleman.

Manuel Lanzini then dropped a glanced header narrowly wide at one end and Rodriguez's speculative effort on his weaker foot drifted over in stoppage time at the end of the half.

Everton had barely had time to set themselves for the second period before West Ham were level. Attacking straight from kick-off, the Hammers worked the ball forward and it ended up at the feet of Snodgrass in too much space and he whipped a shot past Pickford from 20-yards.

The home side's response was swift, however. Three minutes later, Richarlison collected Rodriguez's lay-off but saw his shot come back off the post and after Calvert-Lewin had ballooned another effort into the stands, Richarlison powered to the byline and cut it back for Sigurdsson but he was denied by another good stop from Randolph, this time saving with his foot.

Everton restored their lead two minutes after that, though. Richarlison again terrorised the Hammers' back line by running at them and then across the edge of the box where he unleashed a shot that deflected off Declan Rice and flew past the keeper.

Unfortunately, the Brazilian's evening was brought to a premature end just five minutes later when, tracking back to make a sliding tackle on an opponent, his ankle twisted under his weight and he, too, had to be helped off the field after it was clear he could no longer continue.

Alex Iwobi came on to replace him but Allan would follow his compatriot to the bench not long afterwards after collapsing to the turf clutching his groin in significant pain. Abdoulaye Doucouré was sent on as his replacement and though Lanzini sliced a good chance wide and Pickford had to push Sebastian Haller's overhead kick over his bar, it was Everton who scored next, again through Calvert-Lewin.

A short corner on the left side appeared to going nowhere but the ball eventually ended up at the feet of Iwobi in the box who curled a shot off the right-hand post and Calvert-Lewin was in the right place at the right time to tuck home the rebound with minutes left.

And the shoo-in for an England call-up completed his hat-trick six minutes after that. Rodriguez was involved again as Sigurdsson slipped "DCL" in behind the defence with just Randolph to beat which he did with calm, aplomb and a tidy left-foot finish. It was Calvert-Lewin's eighth goal of the season already and it capped another strong performance from Ancelotti's men even if they will be counting the cost in terms of injuries.

Though this wasn't as dominant a display as the scoreline suggests, there were, nevertheless, strong performances all over the pitch. Calvert-Lewin grabbed the main headline again along with James, who continues to make the game of football look effortless, but Sigurdsson and Delph put in their best personal outings for a long while and Nkounkou demonstrated the defensive abilities that weren't tested in the earlier rounds against lower-league opposition.

Importantly, the new-found confidence in the side was again in evidence. Where Everton teams of recent years might have been knocked back after giving up the lead and then losing key members to injury and, perhaps, struggled to a draw and had to survive the lottery of penalties, Ancelotti's 2020-21 edition simply carry on undeterred and score again themselves.

So with a strong showing over their first three rounds, Everton now have a break until the third week of December when the quarter-finals are scheduled to take place. At least five of the other seven sides left in the competition will be from the Premier League, four of them from the so-called “big six” but injuries permitting, the Toffees will fear few sides the way they are currently playing.

Lyndon Lloyd

Matchday Updates

Everton's Carabao Cup journey continues with their most difficult assignment in the competition thus far in 2020-21 as West Ham United come to Goodison Park.

Kenny and Nkounkou start in a strong line-up that includes Allan and Rodriguez. Anthony Gordon misses out completely tonight because of illness. No place in the squad for Moise Kean and Theo Walcott.

The game got underway after the team names were read out in an eerily empty and ghostly silent Goodson Park that we should be used to by now, but remains such a strange sign of the times.

The Blues soon started to move the ball around with confidence, looking to draw the Hammers out and create a break but Calvert-Lewin gave the ball away very cheaply and it set up the first West Ham break. Four times in the first 5 minutes they played it back to Pickford in order to retain possession.

The visitors got a brief look-in but they could only build slowly down the left this time. Everton continued to pass the ball around without getting close to threatening the Park End goal.

Anderson got the first shot off and Pickford had to dive to smother it. James tried to open things up with a fine pass out to Kenny but his cross hit a defender. But Keane dug a lovely lob forward out of nothing, Calvert-Lewin taking it brilliantly on his toe before delicately chipping it beyond the keeper and into the net for a very fine first goal.

A loose pass by Delph set up another Hammers attack but Everton seemed to be defending well until Keane bundled over Creswell as the ball hit the Hammer's hand... He gave Everton the free-kick. Everton were given another free-kick in a more advanced position but James delivered it too far ahead, straight to Randolph.

Nkounkou had hardly been involved, Everton strangely reluctant to bring him into game with nothing going down that side. A lovely turn of play by Allan set Richarlison off and Randolph was just able to push the unorthodox shot, made under pressure, up and over the bar, with nothing coming from the corner.

Rodriguez set up a wonderful pass for Richarlison to convert for his second, squirming under Randolph and across the line but the linesman had cannily spotted that Richarlison had ventured barely a foot offside.

At the other end, Creswell was able to cross but Haller missed a tasty-looking diving header. The Blues laboured a little, their slick passing game seeing them again only able to work it back to Pickford.

Yarmolenko created an amazing chance for Lannzini but it proved too difficult for him to connect with. James then went on a tantalizing mazy diagonal run that promised much, ending in a corner that Delph could only push well wide.

Out of a defensive position, James looked up and played in a perfect ball for Calvert-Lewin to chase down the left. The Yorkshireman did everything right, cutting in and getting it onto his right foot for a less-than-brilliant curling shot that should really have hit the top corner of the net... but flew agonizingly over. Still it may count as a rare properly struck shot from him outside the area!

West Ham still looked to present some danger when they came forward, but Pickford was yet to be really tested. Kenny hurt his ankle in one of their attacks, awkwardly blocking a cross, and Coleman replaced him.

Everton made heavy weather of things then, and Lanzini could easily have scored an equalizer with a simple reader that bounced wide.

Twinkling feet from Rodriguez got him into the area, laying the ball off for Richarlison, but his weak cross/shot was easy for Randolph to gather. The half finished with a difficult chance for Rodriguez that he fired high and wide across the goal.

West Ham drove forward smartly from the kickoff and Snodgrass fired home a very well hit strike to beat Pickford all hands down after just 26 seconds of the restart.

Everton tried to respond, mounting a series of pressing attacks, with Richarlison striking the post from a narrow angle, but West Ham resisted the pressure resolutely, Calvert-Lewin shooting again from the 18-yard line, but wildly and uncontrolled.

Everton continued to build nicely and they finally got the reward after Richarlison cut in and his shot took a sharp deflection to the left off the arse of Declan Rice, leaving Randolph well stranded going the other way.

Richarlison twisted his ankle badly off the ball and needed attention, but he came back on before the hour mark, with Ancelotti no doubt determined to keep a strong attacking force on the field. But the Brazilian broke down again and was finally removed from the action, with Iwobi replacing him.

West Ham kept pushing and pressing, Yarmealenko almost setting up Lanzini for a strike on goal. Rodriguez tried to release Iwobi down the left but his pass was unusually too far ahead of the ex-Arsenal man.

Allan was worringly the next to hit the turf, clutching at his groin. He was clearly in some distress, replaced by Doucouré on 69 minutes. Rodriquez, Iwobi and Sigurdsson did well in a nice move down the left until the Icelander played it across to no-one and it was all hands to the pumps at the other end as West Ham searched ever harder for another equalizer.

A wonderful chance for Haller saw him execute a difficult acrobatic shot that Pickford was more than equal to, but the pressure was now relentless, the soft underbelly of old Everton only saved by some fine interceptions and good forward running by Doucouré.

But Calvert-Lewin would very fortunately benefit when Iwobi's shot came back off the post and it fell nicely for him to convert his second of the night, 7th of the season.

More brilliant work by Rodriguez allowed Sigurdsson to drive forward and play in Calvert-Lewin who finished much more clinically for his hat-trick, and Everton's fourth goal of the night, a huge relief after Moyes's plucky little Hammers had put the frighteners on the Blues at times.

West Ham still weren't finished despite the scoreline, Lanzini on the end of a cross but he couldn't keep his header down. Yarmolenko was next to threaten with a lob over Pickford but he had not beaten the offside flag. A tricky corner then almost crept through, followed by another that Pickford had to punch sky-high. The Blues thus played out the final minutes mostly in defence, but to secure a vital place in the Quarterfinals.

Scorers: Calvert-Lewin (11', 78', 84'), Richarlison 56'; Snodgrass (46')

Everton: Pickford, Kenny (41' Coleman), Keane, Digne, Nkounkou, Delph, Sigurdsson, Allan, Rodriguez, Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin.
Subs: Lössl, Mina, (' Doucouré) Davies, Bernard (' Iwobi).

West Ham United: Randolph, Balbuena, Johnson, Rice, Noble, Cresswell, Snodgrass, Lanzini, Anderson, Yarmolenko, Haller.
Subs: Trott, Ogbonna, Masuaku, Ashby, Soucek, Bowen, Fornals.

Michael Kenrick

Match Preview

Everton's Carabao Cup journey continues with their most difficult assignment in the competition thus far in 2020-21 as West Ham United come to Goodison Park.

Having faced Salford City and Fleetwood Town in the previous two rounds, it's the first time that the Toffees will meet Premier League opposition and while their early-season form suggested that the Hammers would travel with low morale, a surprising 4-0 win over Wolves on Sunday has changed the outlook of this tie.

Ex-Everton boss David Moyes deployed a fairly strong line-up in West Ham's third-round tie against Hull City last week and was rewarded with a comprehensive 5-1 victory and he is likely to go with a number of first-teamers again, with the likes of Felipe Anderson, Manuel Lanzini, Andriy Yarmolenko and Sebastian Haller (who came on with two minutes to go against Wolves) all rested at the weekend.

Carlo Ancelotti opted for a mix of experience and second-string players against Fleetwood but the Hammers' form over the past two matches might see him err towards a strong side this time around, even though the next Premier League game against Brighton will follow swiftly on Saturday afternoon.

The boss has hinted that Niels Nkounkou, one of the clear stand-outs from the first two rounds, will be in the starting XI again, perhaps with Lucas Digne playing centre-half again alongside Michael Keane, and the likes of Bernard and Alex Iwobi will be hoping that they did enough last Wednesday to earn another start.

The need for cutting edge up top will likely see Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison partner each other up front again and if Abdoulaye Doucouré and Allan aren't in the side, they will almost certainly be on the substitutes' bench again ready to come on if needed to bolster the midfield.

It remains to be seen if Anthony Gordon or Theo Walcott are included in the side or if they will have to be content with places on the bench alongside Moise Kean who scored against Fleetwood but still doesn't appear to have the full confidence in himself that his manager will be looking for.

Though this will be Everton's sixth game in 17 days, they will know that the fixture list eases after Saturday and a two-week break ensues to accommodate the international break. That might factor into the manager's thinking as he assesses which players might be showing fatigue.

But, by the same token, the importance of progressing in the competition and ensuring that Everton are already in the quarter-finals of a major domestic cup competition won't be lost on him either. A sixth successive win would do just that and set things up nicely for further progress in the League.

Kick-off: 7:45pm, Wednesday 30 September 2020
Last Time (cup): Everton 1 - 1 West Ham United (FA Cup, January 2015)

Predicted Line-up: Pickford, Kenny, Keane, Digne, Nkounkou, Delph, Sigurdsson, Bernard, Iwobi, Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin

Lyndon Lloyd

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