In Sunday's only Premier League game, Everton outplayed Hull in a
5-1 victory to move up two places to eighth and leave the visitor
in deeper relegation trouble.
Having missed the first half of the season through injury,
Mikel Arteta scored his first of the campaign in the 17th minute
when he turned home a cross from Ayegbeni Yakubu.
Although Tom Cairney made it 1-1 with a left foot volley in
the 32nd minute for his first Premier League goal, Arteta restored
Everton's lead in the 39th and a cross from the Spanish midfielder
was headed into his own net by Hull's Richard Garcia from virtually
under the crossbar.
Landon Donovan, who is on loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy,
showed why the Everton fans want him to stay longer when he drove
home the fourth with a right footed shot in the 82nd minute and
then set up the fifth for Jack Rodwell.
"First of all, winning was important and it's nice to get a
goal," said Donovan, who went on as a second half substitute.
"There is a chance (of staying longer). We will know more
this week. If that was it then I'm happy. Maybe we can stay a
little longer, we'll see."
While Everton moved closer to a possible place in next
season's European competitions, Hull remained 18th in the
standings.
With Chelsea in FA Cup action, Manchester United went top of
the Premier League with a 1-0 victory at Wolves on Saturday and
leads the standings by two points. Arsenal moved level on points
with Chelsea by beating Burnley 3-1 but Chelsea has a game in hand
on both its rivals.
