Pre-match entertainment
As the players were warming up, there was a distinctly familiar feel to much of what was going on in the stands around them.
The Everton squad took to the pitch and began their warm-up drills with a playlist of the usual music blaring through the speakers. In particular, whoever was making the song choices clearly wanted to make their Merseyside guests as welcome as possible by playing The Beatles' classic "Twist And Shout" at one stage.
However, rather oddly later songs were quite regularly interrupted by sounds you might hear in a video game. Particularly, the noise when you pick up a coin in Super Mario, for those who want to get specific about it.
VERDICT: Minnesota hammering leaves Frank Lampard and Everton facing familiar blunt truth
RATINGS: Everton player 'ratings' against Minnesota United as few positives found in dismal defeat
As it turns out, it's something of a tradition in the stadium. When the balls used in the warm up are collected by a member of staff, the noise is set off when one enters the large bag they have carried onto the pitch.
Does make you wonder if there's some sort of scoreboard associated with this. Or maybe that's just me?
Pass of the night
James Tarkowski was primarily brought to Everton to improve their defensive numbers, that much is clear. However, his ability on the ball is something that has perhaps gone under the radar.
He showed the early signs of his comfort and composure in possession in the second half of the game against Arsenal at the weekend, always looking to drop into spaces and either carry the ball forwards or find the right pass.
And he continued that against Minnesota United, particularly looking for the head of Dominic Calvert-Lewin on a number of occasions in the early stages. The striker clearly appreciated them, even if some were just a tiny bit too high for him to reach.
But the summer signing also produced the pass of the night, lofting a stunning long-ball over the top of the hosts' back line and inside the box for Anthony Gordon to run onto. If he'd swung his left foot at it first time it would have been a difficult technique of course, but he might have had a shot on goal.
As it was the winger instead attempted to control the pass and it went out into touch, but instantly he showed his appreciation to his new teammate for what was some great vision and execution of the ball.
Bumpy landings
It was a night in which Everton's players had to be a bit careful when they were jumping up for headers. Thankfully it seemed they escaped injuries on this occasion, but things could easily have been different.
In the first half, Dominic Calvert-Lewin rose excellently to win a header just inside the opposing half, but received a rather cynical push in the back while he was in mid-air. That caused him to rotate and land very awkwardly on the small of his back, with his instant grimace as he hit the floor showing the pain he was in.
Then in the second half Jean-Philippe Gbamin, who will certainly not want to get injured again, found himself in a similar position on the outside of the Minnesota box - rising for a header only to slam into the floor with a heavy impact.
Both appeared to be fine a couple of minutes after their respective incidents, with the latter in particular going on to have quite a lively match in all fairness. However, it's perhaps something they need to be careful of in the coming weeks, just to hold back from those potential injuries.
Lampard fumes
Regardless of whether this was a pre-season match or not, there will have been enough on the pitch for Frank Lampard to be seriously unhappy with his squad. They played out a pretty dismal 90 minutes by all accounts, with the few highlights involved being completely overshadowed by the negative aspects.
There were too many gaps in defence, too many individual errors being made, and far too many goals being conceded. So, when the camera panned to Lampard shortly after the fourth goal went in, it was no surprise to see his reaction.
The manager was sat in his place on the bench, observing what was happening on the pitch from a distance. However, his expression was almost a face of thunder, and not one you'd have wanted to come face-to-face with in the dressing room if that were a Premier League performance.
The Everton boss is a competitive man and he wants the best for his team, so there might have been a few frosty looks just before the side's flight home later that night.
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