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Attendance: 39,595

Premier League

Feb 25, 2017 at 3pm UK

Everton
2-0
Sunderland

Gueye (40'), Lukaku (78')

FT(HT: 1-0)

Ronald Koeman unhappy with second-half performance

By Barney Corkhill, Editor | 25 February 2017

Everton manager Ronald Koeman admits that his side were "lucky" to get away with their second-half performance during their 2-0 win over Sunderland.

Everton manager Ronald Koeman has said that he is unhappy with his side's second-half performance during this afternoon's 2-0 win over Sunderland at Goodison Park.

Idrissa Gueye gave the Toffees the lead with his first ever Premier League goal five minutes before half time, but Koeman's in-form side were almost pegged back when Jermain Defoe struck the underside of the crossbar after the interval.

Romelu Lukaku eventually sealed the points by doubling his side's advantage 10 minutes from time, but Koeman believes that they were "lucky" to get away with their display in the second half.

"It's three points, and another clean sheet. I was really pleased by the first 45 minutes, but not by the second 45. I think we dropped the tempo in the second half, and played more backwards than forwards," he told BBC Sport.

"We had one lucky moment when Defoe hit the bar. There was a foul on Morgan Schneiderlin in the build-up, and the referee didn't whistle. But it was a lucky moment. We did it by ourselves because we dropped the tempo in the second half."

Everton are now unbeaten in nine Premier League games and have taken a league-high 17 points so far in 2017.