Everton 2-3 West Ham: Michail Antonio, Diafra Sakho and Dimitri Payet all net as away side come from two goals down to bag win

Slaven Bilic could not explain it. Lost in the moment as one of the great comebacks of this extraordinary season had been completed, West Ham’s manager turned on his heels and ran.

Arms outstretched and hands waving, Bilic had a look of giddy disbelief as he disappeared down Goodison Park’s tunnel, while behind his staff were celebrating Dimitri Payet’s last-gasp winner. He appeared moments, this time with his hands clamped on his head.

Seemingly dead and buried in the 77th minute, West Ham – like a boxer with nothing to lose – unleashed a flurry of blows that left Everton startled and dazed and, by the final whistle, lying on the canvas with their senses scrambled.

French attacker Dimitri Payet scored in injury time to grab West Ham an unlikely victory away against 10-man Everton at Goodison Park

The ecstatic West Ham players celebrate by the corner flag after coming from two-goals down to secure all three points in a stunner

This was not a game that Everton, who were reduced to 10 men in the first half after Kevin Mirallas received two stupid bookings, should have lost. Romelu Lukaku had opened the scoring, Aaron Lennon had doubled the lead and all was well on the Blue half of Merseyside.

Then, though, Lukaku missed a penalty in the 69th minute – a feeble shot that was comfortably saved by Spanish keeper Adrian – and the pendulum swung. Everton froze, West Ham pounced and Michail Antonio, Diafra Sakho and Dimitri Payet inflicted maximum damage.

‘I didn’t know what to do,’ the engaging Bilic said, as he reflected on a victory that keeps West Ham firmly in the hunt for a Champions League place. ‘This is the kind of game that can happen in England but we were the better side from the first minute.’

MATCH FACTS, PLAYER RATINGS, PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE FROM GOODISON PARK

EVERTON (3-4-3): Robles 6: Stones 7 (Besic 46mins 7), Jagielka 8, Funes Mori 5.5: Coleman 6, McCarthy 6.5, Barkley 6, Oviedo 6: Lennon 8 (Niasse 75mins 4), Lukaku 6.5 (Barry 89mins), Mirallas 4

UNUSED: Howard (GK), Baines, Deulofeu, Osman

MANAGER – Roberto Martinez 5

WEST HAM UNITED (5-2-3) Adrian 7: Antonio 7, Kouyate 7, Oxford 5 (Carroll 46mins), Ogbonna 7, Cresswell 7.5: Noble 8, Obiang 6 (Song 60mins 5): Payet 9, Emenike 6 (Sakho 60mins 7.5), Lanzini 7

UNUSED: Randolph (GK), Song, Carroll, Sakho, Henry, Hendrie, Dobson

MANAGER – Slaven Bilic 8

Goals – Lukaku (13), Lennon (57), Antonio (78), Sakho (81), Payet (90)

Booked – Mirallas, Antonio, Robles

Sent-off – Mirallas

Attendance – 39,000

Referee – A Taylor 6 

PREMIER LEAGUE TABLE

AARON LENNON GRABS EVERTON THEIR SECOND GOAL OF THE GAME - FOR MORE MATCHZONE STATS CLICK HERE

 

West Ham striker Diafra Sakho celebrates scoring a late equaliser against Everton with team-mate Andy Carroll and Aaron Cresswell

West Ham goalkeeper Adrian celebrates as West Ham grab an equaliser having been two goals down on Saturday against Everton 

West Ham attacker Michail Antonio heads past the Everton goalkeeper to get the east London side back in to the Premier League fixture 

Cheikhou Kouyate and Sakho celebrates after Antonio scores West Ham's first goal of their game on the way to a stunning fightback

Roberto Martinez would dispute that but for their perseverance and tenacity – qualities you would not normally associate – West Ham were absolutely deserving winners. The more you see this side play, the more you cannot fail to be impressed by Bilic’s work.

It helps, of course, having a magician like Payet.

Some 15 minutes after the final whistle, a group of around exultant 100 travelling fans were still singing his name, ignoring the pleas of stewards to leave. It is stretching it to say, as the song goes, he “is better than Zidane” but he is worth his weight in gold to this club.

His skills are obvious but what really strikes about Payet is his willingness to work. He could have gone missing when it was 2-0, saved himself for next week’s FA Cup trip to Old Trafford, but there he was chasing lost causes and terrifying Everton. When space opened up, he started to run amok.

The comeback was helped, though, by Bilic’s tactical switch, when he abandoned the idea of playing three central defenders, introduced Andy Carroll and West Ham began pumping balls forward to ask increasing questions of Everton.

‘I’m very pleased of course to come here and get three points at a stadium where we don’t have any record,’ said Bilic, referring to the fact West Ham’s last win at Goodison Park was December 2005. ‘To do it like this is unbelievable. I have to praise my players.

West Ham's players watch on as Romelu Lukaku steps up to take a penalty against Adrian in the second half on Saturday at Goodison Park

West Ham's Spanish goalkeeper Adrian gets down well to deny the Belgian striker a second goal of the game with a fine stop

Everton striker Lukaku celebrates scoring against West Ham to keep up his impressive record against the east London side

West Ham goalkeeper Adrian watches on as the ball rolls into the net following Lukaku's first half strike at Goodison Park on Saturday

Everton goalscorer Lukaku is joined by his team-mates as he celebrates his early strike against Slaven Bilic's West Ham side

‘If Everton had scored that penalty, they would have won the game maybe 3-0 or 4-0. But what I am pleased the most apart from three points is we never lost our composure, our patience. We didn’t want to force the situations.

‘I said at half-time “Okay, we are one down but we are going to do it”. I told them that we had to be less sexy and more lethal around the box. We knew it was not going to be one-sided match when you have a player like Lukaku.’

‘Lukaku, bristling with aggression, set the tone for his own display when clattering into Adrian in the fourth minute and 60 seconds later, the West Ham keeper showed there were no ill-effects when he produced a fine save to tip over James McCarthy’s left foot volley.

That set the tone. West Ham were quick to fashion a response of their own, when Dimitri Payet skipped clear of a tackle and ran 30 yards but could not provide a finish to match, dragging his right foot shot wide of Joel Robles’ goal.

Lukaku points to the sky as he celebrates his first-half strike to give Everton the lead against high-flying West Ham at Goodison Park

Everton attacker Aaron Lennon slots the ball home to double the hosts' lead in the second half of Saturday's end-to-end clash

Lennon looks ecstatic as he celebrates his first goal of the game in the second half against West Ham at Goodison Park on Saturday 

Former Tottenham attacker Lennon is mobbed by his jubilant team-mates as they double their lead against West Ham on Merseyside

They found themselves behind, however, the next time Everton went forward and it was a fine goal, too. When Bryan Oviedo ushered Lukaku forward, he brushed aside Reece Oxford – playing as third centre-back – and swept a wonderful drive into the corner of the Park End net.

Just when things seem to be running smoothly for West Ham, along comes Lukaku – whose first goal as an Everton player in September 2013 came at Upton Park – to torpedo their ambitions; this was the eighth consecutive game in which he had scored against these Claret and Blues.

How different would things have been had Mirallas stayed on? It is impossible to say but Everton should have been home and dry once the outstanding Lennon had doubled their lead in the 57th minute after swapping passes with Lukaku. The Belgian’s penalty miss, after Mo Besic had been tripped, was crucial.

First Mark Noble’s inswinging cross was glanced in by Antonio, Sakho secured parity after Everton’s defence crumbled before the little French maestro put his stamp on a wonderful match and left Bilic running away in state of delirium and Martinez wondering where it all went wrong. 

Everton attacker Kevin Mirallas apologises after taking down West Ham left back Aaron Cresswell with a late challenge in the first half

West Ham captain Mark Noble tends to Cresswell as Mirallas pleads his innocence with the referee - but is later shown a second yellow

Belgian attacker Mirallas is given his marching orders by referee Anthony Taylor as West Ham's Angelo Ogbonna watches him leave