Abdoulaye Doucoure admits Everton ‘gave everything’ after the Toffees secured Premier League survival with a 1-0 win over Bournemouth.
Doucoure’s stunning goal gave Everton the win required to guarantee their Premier League status for another season, with Leicester and Leeds relegated to the Championship.
The home crowd poured onto the Goodison Park pitch in celebration at full-time, as Everton preserved their top-flight status and avoided a first relegation since 1951.
Match-winner Doucoure admitted Everton were not at their best against Bournemouth, but insisted the side ‘gave everything’ to achieve three points and survival.
“Yeah, thank you. It was a huge game for us,” Doucoure told BBC Sport. ”We are so happy. It’s hard to describe our feeling. We fought all season to compete and save the club. This afternoon we gave everything. It was not our best game but we gave everything and got the result.
“I’m always going for the second ball. I knew I had to strike it as hard as possible and hit the target. Thank god it went in. It was an amazing feeling.
“We knew after Jordan Pickford’s incident we knew there would be extra time. We were able to run more after the goal. It was long but we got the reward.”