The latest turn of events has left the Toffees in dangerous position in the relegation zone, something they would hope to quickly rectify in the coming weeks.
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It has not been pleasant few days for Everton. First, they received a 10-point deduction for reportedly breaching the Premier League’s financial rules. They followed it up by suffering a 3-0 defeat to Manchester United at home on Sunday. The latest turn of events has left the Toffees in dangerous position in the relegation zone, something they would hope to quickly rectify in the coming weeks. On Sunday, Everton supporters expected a response from the team following the recent points deduction, however, the script did not go as planned.
A worldly strike in the opening few minutes by Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho stunned the crowd. The Toffees did bounce back to create multiple opportunities in the first half but were unable to take them. An early penalty at the start of the second half by Marcus Rashford and another goal by Anthony Martial sealed the deal for the visitors in the eagerly-awaited Premier League contest. After the match, Everton manager Sean Dyche was happy with a lot of their performance, particularly in the first half. However, he rued the missed opportunities.
“A lot of the performance was right, particularly the first half. They score a career goal, with a great finish. It changed the feel of the early part of the game, then we got a grip of it. We created chances but could not take them. The chance count is high again today, which is pleasing. People are saying they (United) are not playing well, but they are top of the form guide. We know we had to be aware of that. They get a win strangely from a decent performance from our point of view,” Dyche, quoted by the club’s website, said after the 3-0 defeat.
There was confusion at the start of the second half on the pitch. After Anthony Martial fell down in the box to an Ashley Young challenge, the referee initially ruled out a penalty. However, a VAR intervention saw the decision being overturned. “You are down 2-0 all of a sudden. From a nothing moment, and it was one you think that has gone for you, don’t forget. The crowd think that he has booked the lad for diving, but [the referee] comes back and looks at it for three minutes to make a decision. [The defeat] isn’t just about that, but you are 1-0 down to a worldly, you then haven’t taken your chances, they get a penalty and it’s 2-0. It is really tough then,” he explained.
Even though things have not gone in Everton’s favour in recent days, Dyche wants his side to maintain their belief going forward. “The mentality was good, we kept knocking on the door, we kept trying to create chances and score goals. So I am really pleased with the mentality after what has been a really tough 10 days. We have created a lot of chances this season but not always scored goals. We have to maintain our belief in what we are doing. We are doing that, I think we did through this game. We kept playing hard to the final whistle and that mentality is going to serve us well to the end of the season,” he added.
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