Everton 3-0 Burnley: Sean Dyche’s side pay tribute to Bill Kenwright with EFL Cup win

Everton comfortably beat Burnley to reach the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup on a poignant night at Goodison Park, where the hosts paid tribute to late chairman Bill Kenwright.

Owner Farhad Moshiri was present to pay his respects to Kenwright, appearing at a home game for the first time since October 2021.

He may have witnessed victory on potentially his last appearance at the ground as James Tarkowski headed in the opener after 13 minutes against his former club.

The hosts doubled their lead eight minutes into the second half as Tarkowski nodded on Dwight McNeil’s corner for Amadou Onana to poke in from close range and Ashley Young added a third late on.

Burnley cantered to the Championship title last season but have endured a miserable campaign so far and they bowed out of the cup with a whimper, managing just one shot on target in the contest.

Kenwright remembered with a win

Moving tributes were paid before kick-off to Kenwright, who died last Tuesday aged 78, with long-term partner Jenny Seagrove, daughter Lucy and former Toffees manager Joe Royle laying wreaths in the centre circle.

Elton John’s song ‘I guess that’s why they call it the blues’ was played inside the stadium, before those in attendance observed a period of applause for Kenwright, who was chairman for almost two decades.

A blue and white scarf was also placed on his seat in the directors’ box where he had not sat since January because of security concerns.

Moshiri also joined in with the appreciation from the stands and the British-Iranian after agreeing to sell his majority stake in the club to Miami-based investment firm 777 Partners.

Meanwhile, Toffees boss Sean Dyche emerged victorious in his first appearance against his former side, having been sacked by Burnley last April.

On the pitch, Tarkowski’s header gave Everton the perfect start and fellow former Claret McNeil, who was roundly booed by the travelling supporters, fired narrowly over shortly after.

Onana’s opportunistic effort and Young’s strike on the stretch sealed Everton’s fifth victory in their last seven games, sending Vincent Kompany’s side out of the competition in, what has so far been, a season to forget.

It took until the 95th minute for substitute Wilson Odobert to work Jordan Pickford into a save and they now turn their focus to the Premier League, where they have collected a solitary victory from their opening 10 games.