Embarrassing defeat for Everton
Everton suffered an embarrassing 4-0 defeat at Aston Villa on Sunday that leaves the club bottom of the Premier League table.
Last season the Toffees managed to escape relegation on the final day of the season, after a traumatic campaign that left the team reeling. They have seemed to start in the same way that echoed much of last year’s dreadful showing. After an opening day 1-0 loss at home to Fulham, this result will have compounded most Everton fans’ fears.
To add insult to literal injury, they also lost one of their key players midway through the first half. Dominic Calvert-Lewin has struggled in recent times with injury setbacks, and this was his first appearance of the season. In the opening minutes, he clashed with Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, and despite efforts to carry on, he had to be substituted before the half-hour was on the clock. By then, his team was already 2-0 down.
Add to this striker Alex Iwobi being taken off with a hamstring pull; it was a thoroughly awful day for the Merseyside team.
Injury update
Sean Dyche, who has the thankless task of trying to turn this around again, said after the game. “Dom didn’t go off with concussion; he got a knock on the cheekbone and had a bit of blurred vision. We had to get that checked over properly. With Alex, it’s unusual for hamstrings to settle down very quickly, so he’s likely to be out.”
There could be a silver lining to all the dark clouds, though, as Dyche looks to be closing in on the signing of Southampton forward man Che Adams. After an initial bid of £12m was turned down, a new approach of £15m has gone in. The Saints could be reluctant to let their man go, and indeed he featured and scored the winning goal in their win at Plymouth Argyle on Saturday.
If they were to gain the Scottish international at the low price, it would help ease somewhat the fan’s displeasure of what is already looking like a tough season. Some were seen leaving when the team conceded the third goal of their miserable afternoon, and have been very vocal about how the club is being run in the past year.