Sweet for Toffees
Everton ride on Lukaku double to beat Leicester City
Liverpool, April 10: Two goals from Romelu Lukaku ensured Everton ended Craig Shakespeare’s perfect record as Leicester manager with an entertaining 4-2 victory in the Premier League on Sunday.
There were four goals in the opening 23 minutes, with teenager Tom Davies giving Everton the lead after just 30 seconds. Islam Slimani and Marc Albrighton hit back for the champions, only for Lukaku’s strikes either side of a Phil Jagielka header to put Everton out of reach.
Leicester had won five consecutive league games after sacking Claudio Ranieri in February following a run of results that left it just above the relegation zone.
But with survival now all but secured and a Champions League quarterfinal first leg to come against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday, Ranieri’s successor made five changes to the starting lineup.
The Toffees matched a club record by winning its seventh straight home league game, with Lukaku scoring in each of those matches.
It was a frenetic opening at Goodison Park as Kevin Mirallas drove through the centre, leaving Leicester defenders in his wake before being hauled down. However, referee Robert Madley played the advantage as the ball rolled into the path of Davies, who placed his finish inside the post to equal the fastest goal in the league this season.
Just four minutes later, Demari Gray went on a spectacular run of his own, showing blistering pace to carry the ball from one end of the field to the other before releasing Slimani, who calmly slid the ball through the advancing Joel Robles’ legs to level.