WHEN Everton were on the end of a 6-2 hiding by Spurs at the weekend you sensed it wasn’t just a bad result for the Toffees.

With a festive trip to Burnley following swiftly, Marco Silva’s men would have been keen to get a bad experience out of their system at the first opportunity.

And in the end they needed less than two minutes to start their recovery at Burnley’s expense, although the Clarets had been architects of their own downfall in all three of Everton’s early goals.

Firstly, Charlie Taylor mysteriously and needlessly let the ball run out for a corner with barely a minute on the clock. Seconds later Ben Mee headed the ball out but only as far as Bernard, who swung a delightful ball back into the box. Yerry Mina did not have much to do to get his head to it and the 6ft 5ins Columbian was celebrating his first goal for the club after nodding past a rooted Joe Hart.

The game lurched from bad to worse for Burnley when Matt Lowton conceded a foul 22 yards out. Hart spent a while lining his wall up, and no sooner had he taken his position midway inside the goalmouth than Lucas Digne was sending the England international scurrying back across with a fierce hit.

Hart managed to get a hand to it, but not enough to stop the Frenchman from making it 2-0.

The Spurs humbling then became a distant memory for Everton when they celebrated a third midway through the first half, as Gylfi Sigurdsson benefited from a generously awarded penalty.

A mistake by James Tarkowski had prompted the initial attack, launched by Bernard after the Burnley defender gifted him the ball.

The defender looked to have atoned for his error when he sprinted back to make a superb challenge on the Brazilian.

But the let-off was short-lived as Everton were awarded a penalty from the subsequent corner. Captain Mee had used his arm for elevation to compete for the delivery, got sandwiched in between two Everton players and, unable to move, the ball brushed the top of his hand.

There was no appeal by the opposition, but referee Michael Oliver pointed to the spot and Sigurdsson sent Hart the wrong way.

Burnley were all but on the canvas in this Boxing Day clash, nevermind the ropes.

But to their credit they never looked like throwing the towel in.

Manager Sean Dyche made only one defensive change, with Kevin Long missing out to accommodate the fit-again Ben Gibson.

But in doing so two other centre back positions had altered with Mee, who had played on the left of the back three, positioned centrally and Tarkowski shifting to the right.

Everton were not prepared to make allowances for a period of adjustment.

But Gibson offered Burnley a lifeline in the 37th minute with a goal in his first Premier League appearance for the club.

Tarkowski’s far post header from Taylor’s corner was stopped on the line by a combination of Jordan Pickford and ex-Claret Michael Keane, but Gibson was on hand to turn in the rebound.

An early goal in the second half would make things interesting but when Jeff Hendrick’s cross found Tarkowski inside the six-yard box, the defender somehow lifted the ball over from close range.

Mee went close later on, dragging wide after a half-cleared corner was returned to him in the box.

But by that time Everton had scored a fourth, through Digne’s second, a long-range drive that had Hart well beaten.

Beaten by six in their last game, the visitors responded with five - Richarlison wrapping it up in stoppage time after a ball threaded too easily through the Clarets defence.