THERE was no happy return to Goodison Park for David Moyes as Everton increased Sunderland’s relegation concerns once again.

The Black Cats remain rooted to the foot of the Premier League table after failing to surprise European chasing Everton in front of their own fans on Merseyside.

Sunderland had their moments, particularly defensively, and might have even equalised moments before the crucial second when Jermain Defoe was unfortunate to see his effort bounce on the line after hitting the bar.

But Everton - who Moyes led for 11 years before leaving in 2013 - did enough to get the points that keeps Sunderland in serious trouble courtesy of Idrissa Gueye’s opener five minutes before half-time and Romelu Lukaku’s record equalling second ten minutes before the end.

Sunderland fell behind when they had started to show greater confidence going forward. There was a sense, though, that there would be no way back once Gueye hammered home, even if Defoe did go close.

Sunderland, who were hit with the late withdrawal from the squad of Jason Denayer after a bout of sickness, had not tested Everton goalkeeper Joel Robles once during the first half and the home side had created the better chances.

Jordan Pickford, who returned to the side for the first time since suffering a knee injury on Boxing Day, was the busier and could have conceded before the first even if the home side were not at their best.

Pickford cut a relieved figure when he recovered to prevent an Ademola Lookman effort from rolling over the line which he had spilled early on. The young keeper made a better stop to deny Gueye at his near post as well as showing some decent handling.

But he was unable to stop Gueye’s first time thunderbolt from hammering the net before the break after he timed his run perfectly to meet Seamus Coleman’s delivery, after a brilliant pass out wide from Tom Davies.

Morgan Schneiderlin crashed an effort against the post too, before Sunderland looked to level things up after the restart.

Billy Jones glanced a header wide from Adnan Januzaj’s cross and Sunderland continued to frustrate Everton in an attacking sense, without really creating the chances that could earn a point in the battle to stay up.

Sunderland went even closer when Defoe’s terrific strike crashed off the underside of the bar and bounced down on the line, but Everton attacked at the other end from the resultant corner and made the game safe.

Lukaku charged in from the right and held off the challenge of former Everton team-mate Bryan Oviedo before slotting a finish beyond Pickford; ensuring the Belgian striker equalled Duncan Ferguson’s 60-goal Premier League scoring record for the Toffees.

Sunderland are three points from safety after Crystal Palace’s 1-0 victory over Middlesbrough.

EVERTON (4-2-3-1): Joel; Coleman, Williams, Fune Mori, Baines; Schneiderlin, Gueye; Barkley (McCarthy 83), Davies (Valencia 70), Lookman (Mirallas 60); Lukaku. Subs (not used): Stekelenburg (gk), Jagielka, Barry, Holgate.

SUNDERLAND (4-3-2-1): Pickford; Jones (Manquillo 90), Kone, O’Shea, Oviedo; Larsson, Ndong, Gibson (Honeyman 79); Januzaj, Borini (Khazri 79); Defoe. Subs (not used): Mika (gk), Lescott, Love, Gooch.