If there was a moment that summed up the festering frustrations among Everton supporters then it arrived on 38 minutes, by which point this bludgeoning was already as good as over. Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed for the tunnel holding an ice pack to his face after reporting blurred vision after an earlier collision with Emiliano Martínez and a section of travelling fans jeered his premature exit. Calvert-Lewin, who was not fit enough to feature on the opening weekend but completed a rare 90 minutes in a friendly on Tuesday, responded by sarcastically raising a thumb at the fans by way of thanks and muttered a few words under his breath.
For the second successive season, Everton have zero points from their opening two matches. The painful reality is Aston Villa wiped the floor with Everton. This fixture is the most played in English league history, the game their 211th top-flight meeting, but on this evidence Everton have much work to do to ensure a repeat of this trip next season. It seemed Sean Dyche’s side might even get off lightly until the Villa substitute Jhon Durán scored with his first touches on 75 minutes.
