The good news for Everton is that five of the 10 games they have remaining this season are at home. The bad news is that their buffer over the relegation zone is only three points and away results remain as poor as ever. Five games on the road since Frank Lampard took over have brought five defeats – and what makes this one worse is how unnecessary and self‑inflicted it felt.
“Disappointed,” Lampard said. “We deserved a point at least in general play. It was an afternoon when quite a few things went against us. There are things we can be happy about. If we carry on in that vein things will go in our favour.” And perhaps he is right. Certainly this was not a capitulation such as Everton endured at Tottenham or Crystal Palace.
