FA Cup: Everton 3-0 Sheffield Wednesday – Calvert-Lewin, Richarlison and Mina score

Everton eased past Championship strugglers Sheffield Wednesday to reach the fifth round of the FA Cup.

The home side added to their tally in the second half as Richarlison and Yerry Mina headed goals from corners whipped in by James Rodriguez.

Everton will face Wycombe or Tottenham in the next round, with those two sides meeting on Monday (19:45 GMT).

Victory means Everton have reached the fifth round for the first time since 2015-16 and have now progressed from 12 of their past 13 FA Cup ties against teams from a lower division.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side have also been going well in the Premier League and so will feel confident of an extended FA Cup run and perhaps claiming a first major trophy since 1995, when they beat Manchester United in the final.

Wednesday, next to bottom of the Championship, made a bright start as Adam Reach forced Toffees goalkeeper Robin Olsen into a decent save with a drive from long range.

But the hosts took the lead through Calvert-Lewin’s opportunistic finish and the England international could have had another in the second half but saw a shot from the angle pushed away by goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith.

Two goals in three second-half minutes ended the game as a contest and Everton could have added further to their tally, Richarlison in particular twice going close.

The hosts gave a debut to 16-year-old Thierry Small with five minutes to go, as he replaced Rodriguez to become Everton’s youngest-ever player.

‘Everton look something like their best’ – analysis

Former Everton winger Pat Nevin on BBC Radio 5 Live: “Everton made that a routine game by playing very, very well. There was a real professionalism, they were cruising for about 65 minutes of the game.

“They are a different team with Dominic Calvert-Lewin because he gives them that focus and everything can play around him.

“He runs the ball long, puts himself in positions where creative midfielders can ping in balls to him. He will love playing with those creative players but they will enjoy having him in the team as well.

“I really enjoyed watching them at something like their best.”

‘We are in it to win it’

Everton assistant Duncan Ferguson: “I am absolutely delighted – we played very well and took the chance. We were dominant.

“We hit the bar, had a goal disallowed and in the second half we pushed on. It was a good all-round performance.

“We were dominant right through, we were the better team from the go.

“We are in it to win it.”

On Thierry Small becoming the club’s youngest-ever player: “Brilliant, great for him, I’m made up for him, really delighted.

“He was cool and we are delighted for him. Sixteen-years-old, [it’s] unbelievable and hopefully [this appearance] will be the first of many.”

Sheffield Wednesday caretaker Neil Thompson: “We did well first half and were good on the counter. We used the ball well but we needed to penetrate more.

“They got two goals from set plays which is disappointing but we gave a good account of ourselves. It gave us a chance to pit our wits against some of the best in the country.

“We still have people missing and we have a duty of care to make sure everyone is right.”

In form DCL – the stats

• Everton have now won 15 of their 23 matches in all competitions this season (65%), just one fewer than the Toffees managed throughout the whole of last season (16/43 – 37%).

• Sheffield Wednesday have been eliminated from 17 of their last 18 FA Cup ties against Premier League opponents, with the exception being a 1-0 win at Brighton last season.

• Carlo Ancelotti has now progressed from nine of his 11 FA Cup ties in charge of Chelsea (7) and current side Everton (2), including winning the competition with the Blues in 2009-10.

• James Rodríguez has registered seven assists in all competitions this season with them all coming at Goodison Park – the most by an Everton player at home in the same campaign since 2014-15 (Ross Barkley, 8).

• Harry Kane (28) is the only top-flight English player with more goals in all competitions than Dominic Calvert-Lewin (23) since Carlo Ancelotti’s first game in charge of Everton in December 2019.

• You can stream five fourth-round games live on the BBC this weekend, including Liverpool’s trip to Manchester United. Find out more here.