Over a thousand miles on the road in the space of four days proved to be the road to footballing hell for long-suffering Evertonians as a 3-0 defeat to Bournemouth left them just one place above the relegation zone going into the Premier League’s World Cup break.
We were told by Frank Lampard that this game would be very different to the previous match between these sides in the Carabao Cup at the Vitality Stadium on Tuesday night but while the respective personnel were much-changed, Everton again faced the long trek back up to Merseyside with nothing to show for their efforts.
After changing his entire starting XI for Tuesday's game, Blues boss Lampard retained just two starters from that chastening 4-1 thrashing and the frantic start from both sides showed just how much was at stake for both clubs as they looked to move clear of the drop zone ahead of English top-flight football’s Qatar-enforced hiatus.
