Everton froze under the lights of Goodison Park as they delivered their most disappointing home performance of the season.
With the chance to use the last game in L4 before Christmas to push into the top half of the table and set up a comfortable World Cup break, the Blues struggled against a Leicester City side that stifled their efforts to play out from the back and caused a constant threat.
The damage was done by a sensational volley from Youri Tielemans but in truth this was a comfortable away win on a Bonfire Night when the fireworks were restricted to the displays surrounding the ground - with the exception of debris from one stray rocket that Conor Coady had to clear after it landed on the pitch. Harvey Barnes made it 2-0 with a late strike but it changed little - Everton rarely looked like scoring as they chased a leveller.
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Attention will now turn to the extent of the injury that saw Dominic Calvert-Lewin limp down the tunnel in the second half. Even if his knock was only minor, as all associated with the Blues will hope, and whatever happens at Bournemouth in the final game before the season break, the question for the coming weeks has already been written. And it is the same as the one posed back in the summer: Where will Everton's goals come from?
This was a night in which the growing pains of the progression sought by Frank Lampard were all too obvious. Boosted by the emphatic win against Crystal Palace last time at home - and the fine team goal finished by Anthony Gordon in that win - Everton sought to play out from the back at every opportunity. Brendan Rodgers appeared to anticipate this and set up the visitors to press high and hunt the ball, forcing Jordan Pickford and others into loose passes that were repeatedly picked off by the likes of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Boubakary Soumare. Idrissa Gueye and James Tarkowski made crucial interventions to thwart attacks started by Everton conceding possession in dangerous areas.
Gueye battled hard - winning the ball to start an early move that saw Calvert-Lewin feed Alex Iwobi, who shot narrowly wide. But after the dream start failed to materialise, Leicester dominated and the influence of Gueye faded significantly after he needed treatment in the fifteenth minute - the midfielder then replaced at half-time.
Instead it was Soumare who began to dominate the midfield, though Everton continued to be their own worst enemy. Tarkowski made two important blocks in quick succession before Pickford had to save from Barnes - who he had picked out when trying to launch an attack of Everton's own.
The Blues were not without chances and Danny Ward flew across his goal to palm away a Tarkowski header before Amadou Onana won a header from another corner. The chances kept coming at the other end too, however, Tarkowski grateful to see Leicester squander a five-on-four in their favour after he passed to Dewsbury-Hall on the halfway line. Everton looked like they had weathered the storm until a scrappy clearance allowed James Maddison to feed Tielemans on the edge of the box. He took the ball on his chest before hitting a gorgeous looping volley into the top corner.
James Garner replaced Gueye at half time and Everton started brightly. Iwobi sent Calvert-Lewin through on goal but he could only fire at Ward's legs. By the 65th minute Lampard had made all five available substitutions for only the second time this season. The first had been as his side coasted to victory over Palace. This was as Everton chased an equaliser that did not materialise and rarely looked likely to. It looked even less likely after Calvert-Lewin limped down the tunnel, a sight that will dismay all who are so desperate to see both the England hopeful, and Everton, do well. Instead it was another player desperate to impress Gareth Southgate who provided the menace, Maddison the catalyst for several dangerous counter-attacks and striking the post himself on the hour. He then claimed his second assist of the game by pulling back to Barnes for the away side's late second goal.
Everton are a work in progress and Lampard has been clear there will be moments of frustration during the battle to take the club into mid-table and then beyond. This was one of those moments. Everton will have the opportunity to make the table look brighter during the World Cup break when they visit Bournemouth next week. But whatever happens on the south coast they will finish this first half of the season as they started it - aware progress will not come easy and wondering where the goals will come from.
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