Everton have lost their 18th Premier League game of the season away to relegation rivals Burnley at a hostile Turf Moor, and after losing their fourth game in their last five have now found themselves in an extremely vulnerable position.

Frank Lampard’s side are now just one point clear of the relegation zone following the defeat, and could be inside the bottom three by the end of play this weekend if Burnley beat bottom of the table Norwich and Everton don’t take all three points from Manchester United at Goodison Park.

The Toffees failed to maintain the majority of possession, had fewer big chances and completed less passes than their hosts last night, but were given two huge opportunities to win the game with two penalties awarded.

Sean Dyche’s team were ready for a battle, one they have been in many times before at the bottom of the table, and made their early pressure count when Nathan Collins opened the scoring on 12 minutes.

Alas the lead didn’t last long when Richarlison netted a penalty in the 18th minute after Anthony Gordon was brought down in the box, and Everton were given another lifeline when a second penalty was awarded in the 41st minute of the first half, again the Brazilian forward tucked it away to gain a 2-1 lead on their opponents.

However, Burnley weren’t finished and in the second half came out fighting with a goal in the 57th minute from Jay Rodriguez and Maxwell Cornet killed the game with a late winner to take all three points from the game.

The Everton team let down Lampard again, but one player in particular put in a poor performance after being given the opportunity to play out of position in the midfield, a decision the ex-Chelsea boss could live to regret as Mason Holgate dropped a disaster-class throughout.

His teammate was also extremely poor, proving hapless in defence but it was the man just in front of him that really let his team down.

According to SofaScore, the 25-year-old flop who was dubbed “reckless” by Micah Richards put on another shocking display losing the ball every two touches.

Holgate could also only complete 12 of his 40 passes (40%), lost 75% of his aerial duels and made no tackles before being subbed off in the 87th minute for Salomon Rondon.

Everton slip further into trouble with a number of difficult fixtures ahead of them including an immediate challenge when they host Manchester United at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon.

Lampard’s men must win the game to keep the fate of their position in their hands before Burnley take on Norwich, if they don’t win they could be inside the drop zone by the end of the week.

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