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Barry shines as Everton defeat Coventry to go fifth

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In-form Thierno Barry scored twice as Everton came from behind to beat Coventry on a landmark night for boss David Moyes according to BBC Sport.

The striker struck twice in five second-half minutes to turn the game before teeing up Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s late third as the Toffees moved into fifth in the Premier League table.

He has scored 10 goals in 13 games in all competitions – six in the top flight – after finding the net eight times last season.

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Yann Gboho had given Coventry a second-half lead but it was short-lived as manager Frank Lampard’s return to Everton ended in defeat.

Victory marked Moyes’ 592nd game in charge of the Toffees, the Scot equalling Harry Catterick’s record for games as manager.

It was not a straightforward victory for the home side as competitive Coventry impressed in the first half and felt they should have had a penalty when when James Tarkowski tugged Caleb Yirenkyi’s hair.

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Jordan Pickford saved from Tatsuhiro Sakamoto and Jack Rudoni drilled wide before Gboho gave them the lead after 52 minutes when, surrounded by three Everton defenders, he poked in.

But five minutes later Barry headed in the leveller before bundling in from close range soon after.

Barry then set up Dewsbury-Hall, overlooked by England boss Thomas Tuchel for his latest squad, to drill in with nine minutes left.

Everton analysis: Barry the lightning rod for Toffees

What a season Barry is having already.

After scoring just eight goals last term, following a £27m move from Villarreal the 24-year-old has already eclipsed that.

He has 10 goals in 13 appearances after these two goals against Coventry, having taken 16 games to get his first Everton goal in 2025-26.

The striker is now the Premier League’s second top scorer, level with Liverpool’s Aleksander Isak on six – three being Manchester City striker Erling Haaland.

There may have been some fortune in his second-half winner as it was bundled in but Barry is making his own luck and is in the form of his Everton career.

Coventry analysis: Wrong to blame officials’ decisions

Coventry will feel hard done by and claim decisions went against them but they ran out of steam in the second half.

They were controlled and confident in the first half were not able to build on Gboho’s early goal after the break.

Lampard will point to the decision not to award a penalty for Tarkowski pulling Yirenkyi’s hair but the guidance has been relaxed this season, meaning an instant foul is not a given.

For it to be a foul it had to be deemed deliberate and, with Tarkowski also jumping for the ball, it did not pass the bar with the video assistant referee.

But it would be wrong to focus on that as the Sky Blues were unable to handle the hosts once Barry scored the equaliser.