Everton pressed the self-destruct button on a season that started with so much promise as they collapsed in a game they simply could not afford to be outfought in.
When the final whistle put the travelling Blues out of their misery every single player, and Frank Lampard, went over to the away fans. Six weeks ago when they did this it was to dance in celebration after a win at Southampton. Everything looked so much different then.
This time it was to face frustrated fans who have spent huge sums amid a cost of living crisis, some twice in a week, only to see their heroes capitulate on both occasions. The anger from sections of the support was justified. Lampard acknowledged that himself in the aftermath. There could be few excuses for that display. A mini-season that started with a win in the south coast sunshine ended with a limp display in a crucial game on the same patch of coastline. Make no mistake, Everton have a six week period of reflection and a January transfer window to avoid another relegation battle.
MATCH RECAP: Look back on how Bournemouth vs Everton unfolded here
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This was another lifeless display at a time when a point really needed to be proved. Yet after 65 minutes at Bournemouth, 47 of which Everton had been spent trailing in a game they could ill-afford to lose, the away side had mustered just one shot on target. The harsh truth is that at 1-0 down, then at 2-0 down, then 3-0 down, the hosts looked the more threatening despite the increasingly desperate nature of the situation. Frank Lampard and his dugout have good reason to be incensed over key moments in this game - the move for the second goal could have been halted with James Tarkowski down with a head injury. Lewis Cook avoided a red card for a ferocious lunge that VAR is understood to have ruled reckless but still, somehow, not a sending off. Everton were already unravelling by that stage though.
A frantic start had seen both sides create chances but the game turned in the 18th minute. A bouncing ball was lost in the middle, Dominic Solanke fought off James Tarkowski and from the same position that Jamal Lowe struck a lucky, deflected opener in Bournemouth's mauling of Everton in the Carabao Cup, Solanke shot at Jordan Pickford. It was a tame effort but it squirmed through the fingers of Pickford and into the path of Marcus Tavernier. He had a tap-in. Everton, who against Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United and Leicester City were unable to get back into games they had lost the initiative in, were behind again.
Seven minutes later it was chaos in the box as Kieffer Moore doubled the lead. Pickford saved well amid a melee that saw Tarkowski hit the ground. As Bournemouth recycled play Moore rose between Conor Coady and Vitalii Mykolenko and headed in. Tarkowski received treatment, Mykolenko was immediately taken off, departing straight down the tunnel while clutching the area around his collar bone. VAR checked the goal for a foul, did not find one, and does not rule on head injuries. Pickford and others were angered by the decision to play on while Tarkowski was down. Their frustration reached new levels when, later in the half, Solanke flopped to the ground and Everton launched a counter attack that was halted by referee Craig Pawson. Solanke had not even sought to claim it was his head that was hurt.
Before then there was more controversy as Cook lunged in on Onana. It was a fierce tackle that was sent to VAR as well. The ECHO understands the tackle was deemed reckless but not so reckless it warranted a red card instead of the yellow that was handed to the midfielder. Work that one out.
The temptation would be to blame this defeat on the decisions that did not go Everton's way. But this was a devastating loss that was rooted in a timid and toothless display from those in Royal Blue. With so much on the line they could perhaps afford to be outplayed but, after the humiliation suffered on the same ground on Tuesday, could not allow themselves to be outfought. They were.
The initial reaction to Lampard's most important team talk since half-time against Crystal Palace in the penultimate game of last season appeared positive. Onana burst through his opposition, rode several tackles and reached the byline - perhaps being too honest as he stayed on his feet under pressure. He pulled the ball back and it eventually fell to Idrissa Gueye, who could only blast over. It was a sign of intent that was not replicated, however.
Despite defeat being so damaging the same old story unfolded in another traumatic away day for the travelling Blues. Philip Billing flashed a header just wide, Solanke and then Tavernier forced saves from Pickford and all Everton could manage in response was a long range effort over the bar from Patterson. When Jaidon Anthony scored the third the biggest surprise was not another Bournemouth goal, it was that Lampard had not yet turned to his bench. He did not do so until the 75th minute when the game was lost, despite it containing Anthony Gordon. Only later did it emerge Gordon had a broken hand.
Despite this, minutes after his introduction, Gordon swung in a cross that picked out youngster Tom Cannon, who had come on along with the 21-year-old. The starlet's header forced only the second save from home keeper Mark Travers in the match to that point. The final whistle did not end a barrage of Everton attacks as they sought a consolation. It simply put the side out of their misery. Every single Everton player, as well as Lampard, went to the away end when the match concluded. What was said was unclear but if there was an apology to the fans then it was justified.
After glimpses of progress, Everton end the first 15 games of this season just one point and one place clear of the relegation zone. It is salvation on a technicality though. Everton have taken a big step back after a disastrous week and have no choice but to spend the World Cup break working out how they can save themselves. They cannot rely on anyone else.
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