For all the encouraging displays Everton have produced in recent weeks, manager Frank Lampard warned before this game that “improvement doesn’t happen in a straight line” and after getting their noses in front early on against Manchester United, the Blues produced arguably their most-disjointed display of the season to fall to their first defeat in eight matches.
In truth, Lampard’s side peaked too early as Alex Iwobi’s spectacular strike from outside the area just five minutes in should have proven to be the springboard to what could have been a third consecutive win and a famous night under the lights at Goodison Park. However, that early zip quickly eroded as for the second straight match, Idrissa Gueye gifted Everton ’s opponents possession and within seconds, Antony had broken clear and stuck the ball into Jordan Pickford’s net.
You might be able to get away with such languid play when you strolling around for petrodollar-fuelled Paris Saint-Germain in Ligue 1 but back in the Premier League, the Senegalese international has learned the hard way that the team you face are far more ruthless.
