Relegation to the Championship would be a "disaster" for Everton's finances, according to Daily Star journalist Paul Brown.

Frank Lampard's side collected a crucial victory against Chelsea on Sunday to boost their chances of beating the drop, but they remain two points from safety heading into their final five games.

Everton announced losses of more than £110m for the third season on the bounce earlier this year, and Brown reckons they must remain in the Premier League to avoid further troubles.

What happened against Chelsea?

After Burnley's victory over Watford 24 hours earlier, it was simply a must-win game for the Toffees, who knew that anything other than three points would leave them staring relegation in the face.

But Everton came up with yet another huge Goodison Park result to move within two points of both Leeds and Burnley in what's shaping up to be an anxious end to the campaign.

The key moment came seconds after half-time when Richarlison took advantage of some sloppy defending from Cesar Azpilicueta before coolly slotting home into the far corner to send Goodison Park into ecstasy.

Everton were starved of possession for the entire game and were thankful for the heroics of Jordan Pickford, who kept Chelsea at bay on several occasions.

As a result, Everton have breathed new life into their battle for survival and know that a second victory on the bounce at Leicester on Sunday will see them climb out of the relegation zone, providing Leeds don't win at Arsenal at the same time.

What did Brown say about Everton?

He told GIVEMESPORT: "I genuinely think that for Everton [to go down] it would be a disaster, because their accounts are in such mess and there could be repercussions going into the Championship because the rules are slightly different."

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Can Everton survive?

Despite still being inside the bottom three, Everton will surely fancy their chances of keeping their ever-present record of being a Premier League club intact.

Not only are Everton now chasing two teams, but Leeds face Arsenal and Chelsea in their next two matches, with the Toffees playing Leicester, Watford, and Brentford in the same period.

If Lampard's charges collect at least two wins from those three fixtures and Leeds don't come up with anything spectacular against Arsenal or Chelsea, then avoiding the drop will become a strong possibility.