Everton came crashing out of the EFL cup last night, after a defeat to Championship side Norwich in the EFL cup third round.
Norwich City were the surprise winners in the EFL cup third round last night, after beating an Everton side that have had their best ever start to the Premier League season.
A goal from former Blues forward Steven Naismith gave Norwich the lead just before half-time and the second came from Josh Murphy cementing an all-round team performance that Norwich fans will be delighted with.
Everton on the other hand were unrecognisable from the unbeaten Premier League team that we have been seeing so here is what we learned from Everton’s shock exit:
An all-round poor performance from the Blues
Ross Barkley was one of several Everton players who were poor last night
Ronald Koeman made six changes to the team that beat Middlesbrough 3-1 at the weekend but despite this you cannot use the argument that the Blue’s side lacked any quality as their starting Xl still had experience.
Norwich even made ten changes but the Championship side dominated the tie, which was embarrassing for Everton as Norwich outclassed them.
Rating the Blues last night, it is hard to give any player above a 5. Barkley, Deulofeu and Lennon were guilty of sloppy finishes and giving the ball away – a problem that Koeman needs to address.
Performances from Lennon and Cleverley proved the reason why Koeman doesn’t pick them in his usual line-ups. The reality is they do not strengthen the team.
Striker concerns grow
Koeman rested Romelu Lukaku for Saturday’s game away to Bournemouth and last night was a wake up call for everyone. Without Lukaku, have the Blues got a striker who can score?
Enner Valencia made his first start for the Blues since joining on loan from West Ham this summer. The striker offered nothing to the game. The Ecuadorian looks unlikely to net the same amount of goals that Lukaku does. If the Belgium striker was to pick up a serious injury then Everton look in trouble. Not bringing in a good enough striker this transfer window looks to be a major problem for the Toffees.
Everton’s key players were missed
The defeat has certainly sent Everton back down to earth as everyone expected the Blues to win. The fact that they didn’t shows that Koeman still has a lot of work to do.
Baines, Barry, Jagielka and Lukaku were missed and without them the Toffees struggled. The only players that deserve some credit are Coleman, Gueye and Williams.
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