Thierno Barry double completes Everton comeback to move them fifth

Thierno Barry scored twice in five minutes as Everton recovered from conceding first to beat Coventry City 3-1 at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Friday and climb to fifth in the table.

David Moyes’ side trailed shortly after half-time when Yann Gboho put Coventry ahead. Barry then changed the game with a quickfire double before Everton added a third to secure their third consecutive victory in all competitions.

The 24-year-old has now scored 10 goals this season, surpassing his total for the whole of the 2025-26 campaign. Six of those goals have come in his past seven appearances across all competitions.

Barry’s form represents a significant improvement after a difficult first season at Everton following his move from Villarreal. Moyes was pleased with the striker’s response after his side fell behind.

“We gave away a really poor goal but the reaction from there was really good. Important that Thierno Barry got another couple of goals tonight which was huge for us,” said the Everton manager.

“He can smile at me now and say I told you so and that’s good. We always liked him and we want him to keep scoring.”

Moyes said Barry’s finishing had developed considerably and that the forward was becoming increasingly important to the team.

“He’s missed quite a few chances but tonight he got important goals for us. He’s becoming an important piece for us and he’s got 10 goals for us which is really good,” he added.

Barry said Manchester City striker Erling Haaland was one of his main sources of inspiration and admitted he would like to compete with him for the Premier League Golden Boot.

“I’m very happy because I’m a fan of him. I watch a lot of videos of him and try and do the things he does,” Barry said. “If I can stay with him until the end to get the Golden Boot I will try.”

Moyes accepted that Coventry had made the match difficult for Everton but praised his players for responding positively after Gboho’s goal.

Coventry manager Frank Lampard, who previously managed Everton, was unhappy with several key decisions during the match. He appealed for penalties after incidents involving James Tarkowski and Vitaliy Mykolenko, and also questioned whether Everton’s second goal should have counted because of a possible handball.

“Big decisions affected the game, clearly,” Lampard said.

He also believed VAR had failed to reach the correct decision over the goal.

“The last touch to score is off the hand, in my opinion. I’ve seen a conclusive angle so I can disagree,” he added.

The decisions were allowed to stand, leaving Everton with another important win and Barry with an increasingly influential role in Moyes’ side.