Everton edge Brighton, move two places above drop zone

Everton edged Brighton to move out of the relegation zone in David Moyes 700th Premier League match as a manager.

Everton’s second away win of the season lifts them seven points clear of the relegation zone with a game in hand, while Brighton remain ninth.

The Toffees’ manager Moyes marks his milestone with gritty win after masterminding a well deserved victory over Tottenham last weekend.

Moyes will hope his team’s latest triumph is the first step towards improving their dismal recent away record.

Saturday’s win was just their second in 22 league matches away from Goodison Park, while Ndiaye’s first-half spot-kick was only their second goal in seven top-flight games on their travels.

Everton’s cause was not helped by Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s 12th-minute withdrawal after the striker appeared to pull his right hamstring as he leapt for the ball inside the Brighton half.

Iliman Ndiaye’s first-half penalty proved decisive as Everton eased their relegation fears with a 1-0 victory over Brighton.

Brighton defender Joel Veltman appeared to deliberately shepherd the ball out of play with his hand while under pressure from Beto inside the penalty area.

Tim Robinson pointed to the spot for a penalty after he was invited by the video assistant referee (VAR) to consult his pitchside monitor, and Ndiaye sent a low effort into the bottom corner to give Everton the lead.

Brighton created little chances in the first half but emerged for the second period with greater purpose, Kaoru Mitoma curling a shot wide of the far post before Orel Mangala and Jordan Pickford combined to clear Joao Pedro’s close-range effort behind for a corner.

Half-time substitute Georginio Rutter flashed a shot narrowly wide after shrugging off Jarrad Branthwaite on the edge of the box, but there was no way through for the Seagulls as their unbeaten start to 2025 came to an end.

Ndiaye – who scored a wonderful goal in the win over Spurs – also cut a frustrated figure for large parts of the first half, but he kept his composure from the spot to net his fifth Premier League goal of the campaign.

The Toffees had their backs to the wall for most of the second half and they had to play the closing stages with 10 men, Mangala picking up an injury after Moyes had used all his allotted substitution slots.

But on a day when the 61-year-old became just the third manager after Arsene Wenger and Sir Alex Ferguson to reach 700 Premier League games, the visitors held on to register back-to-back victories for the first time this season.