Everton 3-1 Coventry City: Barry heroics hand Moyes landmark win

Thierno Barry scored twice and provided an assist as Everton came from behind to beat Coventry City 3-1 at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Friday's game was a notable one for David Moyes, whose 592nd match in charge of the Toffees saw him match Harry Catterick's club-record.

It looked as though the occasion may be soured when Yann Gboho's clever finish put Coventry ahead shortly after half-time, but Barry popped up with two goals in the space of five minutes to change the mood on Merseyside.

The Frenchman also provided the pass that led to Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's 81st-minute clincher, with back-to-back Premier League wins lifting Everton to fifth in the table ahead of the international break.

Everton started the brighter of the two teams, with a handball decision against Barry bringing an end to a 15th-minute scramble in which Carl Rushworth had thwarted Harrison Armstrong.

But it was Coventry who got on top as the first half went on with their clearest chance falling to Tatsuhiro Sakamoto, though he blasted his shot straight at Jordan Pickford from close range.

Jack Rudoni was inches away from finding the bottom-left corner from distance, while Pickford also had to remain alert to turn Victor Torp's free-kick to safety.

A few jeers were audible from the home fans at half-time, and their frustrations grew seven minutes into the second half, when Gboho brilliantly turned away from three blue shirts inside a crowded penalty area and prodded past Pickford with the outside of his boot.

Coventry then failed to make the most of a couple of promising breaks, and Everton made them pay in the 56th minute, when Barry met Vitalii Mykolenko's cross with a powerful header that Rushworth simply could not keep out.

There was a hint of fortune – and controversy – about the Frenchman's second, as he failed to make proper contact with Tyrique George's cross but saw the ball skip back up off the turf and deflect off him and in, with Coventry suggesting he handled amid the melee. 

Coventry failed to recapture their momentum from then on, and Dewsbury-Hall put the game beyond them with a ferocious finish late on, having been fed by Barry – who could have secured the match ball when he sent an improved header wide late on.

Barry's hot streak continues

Barry may not always be the easiest striker on the eye. Asked by Sky Sports whether the ball came off his hand for his second goal, the 24-year-old smiled: "A goal is a goal."

But on the evidence of this season, he may just be one of the most effective in the Premier League.

He already has more goals across all competitions this season (10), in 13 outings, than he managed in 41 matches last campaign (eight).

Erling Haaland (14) is the only Premier League player to outscore Barry overall in 2026-27, while he is the 12th player from Europe's top five leagues to reach double figures this season – he boasts as many goals as Ballon d'Or winner Harry Kane,

Barry is also just the sixth Everton player to score more than five goals across the first 10 games of a Premier League campaign, and the first since Dominic Calvert-Lewin hit 10 by this stage in 2020-21.

While Everton are putting themselves in the European mix in the early stages of this season, Coventry remain 16th in the table, with Frank Lampard unable to get one over on his former employers.

On the last six instances of a former Everton boss facing the Toffees in the Premier League, those managers have always lost – Marco Silva has lost three games against them, with Sean Dyche going down twice and Lampard once.