Thierno Barry scored twice and provided an assist to drive Everton to a 3-1 comeback victory over Coventry City, lifting David Moyes’ side into fifth place in the Premier League table.
Barry Reaches Ten Goals as Everton Overcome Coventry
Everton fell behind early at Goodison Park when Yann Gboho collected the ball inside the penalty area, eluded Jarrad Branthwaite, and poked a close-range shot past Jordan Pickford for his first goal for the Sky Blues in only his second league appearance, as reported by Sky Sports. The visitors held the lead for just four minutes before Barry responded in the 57th minute by heading in a cross from Vitalii Mykolenko at the back post, according to The Independent.
Within five minutes, Barry added his second of the match by outjumping Jay Dasilva at the far post to bundle home off his midriff past a panicked Carl Rushworth, as detailed by RTE. The 24-year-old striker now has 10 goals for the season, placing him second only to Manchester City forward Erling Haaland in the Premier League scoring charts.
Before the fixture, Everton manager David Moyes equalled Harry Catterick’s milestone of 592 matches in charge and remarked that Erling Haaland should be worried
, as noted by Football365.
Controversial VAR Decisions Dominate Merseyside Fixture
Coventry head coach Frank Lampard expressed strong frustration after his side had three major VAR reviews go against them during the encounter, telling Sky Sports that officials failed to perform their duties. In the first half, James Tarkowski avoided punishment after appearing to pull Caleb Yirenkyi’s hair during an aerial duel in the penalty area while the score remained goalless.
Thierno Barry scores twice vs. Coventry to turn it around for Everton and bring his tally to 10 goals this season 💥 He had eight goals in all of 2025-26 for the Toffees. pic.twitter.com/idpNFnBpEF
— https://x.com/brfootball/status/2118816861429309566
The first-half decision on Tarkowski got checked. And seeing it back, he pulls on Caleb’s hair while competing with Ethan [Pinnock].
Frank Lampard, Coventry head coach
Coventry experienced further penalty frustration after the interval when Taiwo Awoniyi was brought down by Vitalii Mykolenko, with VAR ruling the contact occurred fractionally outside the box. A third review examined whether Barry handled the ball into the net during his second-half scramble. VAR official Timothy Wood cleared the incident, radioing Stuart Atwell: Okay, that’s [hit] his side, that’s definitely not hand. Confirming on-field decision of goal.
Dewsbury-Hall Seals Points to Leapfrog Liverpool
With nine minutes remaining, Barry turned provider with an eye-of-the-needle pass that released Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to fire past Rushworth from a tight angle at the near post, sealing the 3-1 scoreline described by Birmingham Now. The midfielder’s performance followed his omission from the England squad by Thomas Tuchel earlier on Friday.
The win moves Everton into fifth place in the Premier League, temporarily leapfrogging Merseyside rivals Liverpool, while Coventry remains two points above the relegation zone.