No way through ... Seamus Coleman battles with James McClean. Source: AFP
Adam Johnson ended Sunderland's eight-hour and 55-minute goal drought but goals from Marouane Fellaini and Nikica Jelavic gave Everton a 2-1 win at Goodison Park.
England winger Johnson, 25, prodded in just before the interval to score his first goal since joining the club from Manchester City in a £10 million ($A15.9 million) deal in August.
But just as Sunderland looked set to cling on for only a second win in 18 matches, Fellaini pulled Everton level with his sixth Barclays Premier League goal of the season with 15 minutes left.
Less than three minutes later, Jelavic added a second with his fifth of the campaign to make sure the Toffees extended their unbeaten run against the Black Cats to 16 matches.
There was a blow for Everton manager David Moyes, however, with Belgian winger Kevin Mirallas, who has become a key player since joining from Olympiakos in the summer, limping off with an apparent hamstring injury.
| P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man United | 11 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 27 |
| 2 | Chelsea | 10 | 7 | 2 | 1 | 12 | 23 |
| 3 | Man City | 10 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 9 | 22 |
| 4 | Everton | 11 | 5 | 5 | 1 | 7 | 20 |
| 5 | West Brom | 11 | 6 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 20 |
| 6 | Tottenham | 10 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 17 |
| 7 | Arsenal | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 16 |
| 8 | Fulham | 11 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 5 | 16 |
| 9 | West Ham | 10 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 15 |
| 10 | Newcastle | 10 | 3 | 5 | 2 | -2 | 14 |
| 11 | Swansea | 11 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 13 |
| 12 | Stoke | 11 | 2 | 6 | 3 | -1 | 12 |
| 13 | Liverpool | 10 | 2 | 5 | 3 | -2 | 11 |
| 14 | Wigan | 11 | 3 | 2 | 6 | -6 | 11 |
| 15 | Norwich | 11 | 2 | 5 | 4 | -10 | 11 |
| 16 | Sunderland | 10 | 1 | 6 | 3 | -4 | 9 |
| 17 | Aston Villa | 11 | 2 | 3 | 6 | -7 | 9 |
| 18 | Reading | 10 | 0 | 6 | 4 | -6 | 6 |
| 19 | Southampton | 11 | 1 | 2 | 8 | -14 | 5 |
| 20 | QPR | 11 | 0 | 4 | 7 | -12 | 4 |
Everton's impressive start to the campaign had looked to be in trouble after four consecutive draws but this victory keeps alive their hopes of an unlikely challenge for a UEFA Champions League place.
Moyes praised his side's resilience.
"It was great, we showed great character throughout," said Moyes.
"We never gave in, we kept knocking at the door, kept trying to score, trying everything.
"Sunderland have had a couple of half chances in the first half they will be disappointed they didn't take.
"But we had a lot of possession and just didn't create the chances our ball possession might have deserved.
"They made it really hard for us to get through and I actually thought after 70 minutes this might not come.
"But in the end it did and it was a great three points for us."
Sunderland boss Martin O'Neill was happy with the showing but was left to rue missed chances.
"We were absolutely brilliant in the first half," he said.
"We created a number of chances in the game. We've gone in 1-0 at half-time but it should have been three.
"We were obviously going to be put under pressure in the second half. I thought we were coping manfully with that. But Everton are very strong and very resilient, they keep hammering away.
"They got a break and got the equalising goal and then got a real decent break for their winning goal."
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