West Bromwich Albion 2-3 Everton

Romelu Lukaku scored twice as he led a superb comeback by Everton, who battled from 2-0 down to win at West Brom.

The Baggies took the lead before the break when Saido Berahino finished well, before Craig Dawson doubled the lead in the 54th minute with a header.

Win huge for Everton - Martinez

A minute later Lukaku rose to nod in Gerard Deulofeu's cross, and then set up Arouna Kone who fired in to level.

Belgium striker Lukaku grabbed the winner with a close-range strike from another excellent Deulofeu delivery.

The result moves Everton up to fifth on 12 points, while West Brom, who have yet to win at home, drop to 15th with eight points.

Lukaku - a tale of two halves

It was a certainly a game of two halves, following a dire opening 40 minutes, but Lukaku himself had a contrasting 90 minutes.

The 6ft 3in 22-year-old has had to carry the burden of a £28m price tag ever since he signed on a permanent deal for the Toffees in July 2014, following a successful season on loan in 2013-14.

Injuries cost West Brom - Pulis

And despite scoring 20 goals last season, his performances were mixed, which prompted manager Roberto Martinez to defend him.

Everton fans must have been wondering which Lukaku they would see at The Hawthorns. They saw both.

The left side of the graphic below shows that Lukaku found himself in deep positions in the first half as he tried to get into the game.

However, with Everton chasing the match after the break, he moved further forward and became more of a threat in and around the area. The service also improved from Spaniard Deulofeu, who delivered two fantastic crosses for the Belgian's goals.

Lukaku touch maps — Romelu Lukaku was far more active inside and around the edge of the West Brom penalty area in the second half (right) than he was in the first half (left). He focused on playing more centrally and did not drop deep so often to receive the ball

What happened to the miserly Baggies?

For a team that came into the game having conceded only six goals in six matches, shipping three goals in one half would be a surprise to the casual observer.

However, two injuries caused the Baggies' tight defence to become flaky.

The first occurred when Gareth McAuley was hurt in training prior to the match, and the second when Jonas Olsson came off in the 28th minute with what appeared to be a groin problem.

Everton's defence also looked brittle in the first half, which again could be attributed to injuries, with John Stones, Seamus Coleman and Leighton Baines missing. Fortunately for the inexperienced backline, the team's emphasis focused on attack as they chased the game after the break.

Man of the match - Romelu Lukaku (Everton)

Manager reaction

West Brom boss Tony Pulis: "The first goal kills us. We should deal with it. The other two goals are poor goals - the second one looks offside, the linesman is looking the wrong side. It's a poor decision.

"It's really, really disappointing because before we scored the second goal we had some good chances. We switched off and Everton will punish you."

Everton manager Roberto Martinez: "We were very disappointed with the first half. We were off, every single individual.

"The mountain we had to climb, it would have been easy to lose focus but we got three goals against the best defensive structure in the Premier League.

"Every three points is huge but it feels extra good. Deulofeu took extra responsibility, he wanted the ball all night and it was a real mature performance."

Pundit analysis

BBC Radio 5 live's Steve Claridge at the Hawthorns: "Everton looked far more comfortable when they threw the shackles off and went for it. Going 2-0 down was the best thing that could happen to them."

The stats you need to know

Twelve of Saido Berahino's 16 Premier League goals since the start of last season have been scored at The Hawthorns.
West Brom are now the only team not to concede a goal away from home in the Premier League this season (Everton had also not done so, before Monday night)
Tony Pulis saw Stoke score 188 goals in 190 Premier League games, saw Crystal Palace score 26 in 26 and has now seen West Brom score 25 in 25.
West Brom have scored 13 set-piece (excluding penalties) goals since Tony Pulis took over. Only Crystal Palace (14) have more in that period.

What's next for both teams?

A brilliant win sets Roberto Martinez's Everton up nicely for Sunday's Merseyside derby at Goodison Park, with Liverpool only a point behind them in the table. As for West Brom, they are away at seventh-place Crystal Palace on Saturday.

Line-ups
Match Stats
Live Text

Line-ups

West Brom

Formation 4-3-3

13Myhill
25Dawson
6Evans
3OlssonSubstituted forChesterat 28'minutes
11Brunt
24Fletcher
5YacobSubstituted forLambertat 85'minutes
7Morrison
14McClean
33RondónSubstituted forGardnerat 69'minutes
18Berahino

Substitutes

4Chester
8Gardner
10Anichebe
17Lambert
19McManaman
21Lindegaard
31Gnabry

Everton

Formation 4-2-3-1

24Howard
27BrowningSubstituted forGibsonat 72'minutes
6Jagielka
25Funes Mori
32Galloway
16McCarthyBooked at 70mins
18Barry
19Deulofeu
20Barkley
14NaismithBooked at 64minsSubstituted forKonéat 72'minutesBooked at 76mins
10LukakuSubstituted forLennonat 89'minutes

Substitutes

1Robles
4Gibson
7McGeady
8Oviedo
9Koné
12Lennon
21Osman

Referee:: Robert Madley
Attendance:: 24,240

Match Stats

Home TeamWest BromAway TeamEverton

Possession: Home46%; Away54%

Shots: Home9; Away12

Shots on Target: Home4; Away4

Corners: Home6; Away4

Fouls: Home9; Away8

Live Text

Post update
Match ends, West Bromwich Albion 2, Everton 3.
90'+6'
Full Time
Second Half ends, West Bromwich Albion 2, Everton 3.

90'+5'
Post update
Corner, West Bromwich Albion. Conceded by Ramiro Funes Mori.
90'+2'
Post update
Brendan Galloway (Everton) wins a free kick on the left wing.
90'+2'
Post update
Foul by Craig Gardner (West Bromwich Albion).
90'+1'
Post update
Attempt blocked. Ross Barkley (Everton) right footed shot from outside the box is blocked. Assisted by Gareth Barry.
90'
Post update
Attempt saved. Darron Gibson (Everton) right footed shot from outside the box is saved in the centre of the goal.
89'
Post update
Ross Barkley (Everton) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
89'
Post update
Foul by Craig Gardner (West Bromwich Albion).
89'
Substitution
Substitution, Everton. Aaron Lennon replaces Romelu Lukaku.
87'
Post update
Attempt missed. Rickie Lambert (West Bromwich Albion) right footed shot from the centre of the box is close, but misses to the right. Assisted by James Chester with a cross.
86'
Post update
Offside, Everton. Darron Gibson tries a through ball, but Ross Barkley is caught offside.
85'
Substitution
Substitution, West Bromwich Albion. Rickie Lambert replaces Claudio Yacob.
84'
Goal!
Goal! West Bromwich Albion 2, Everton 3. Romelu Lukaku (Everton) right footed shot from very close range to the bottom right corner. Assisted by Gerard Deulofeu with a cross.
83'
Post update
Foul by Gareth Barry (Everton).
83'
Post update
James Morrison (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
79'
Post update
Foul by James McCarthy (Everton).
79'
Post update
James McClean (West Bromwich Albion) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
77'
Post update
Delay over. They are ready to continue.
76'
Post update
Delay in match Jonny Evans (West Bromwich Albion) because of an injury.

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