Marco Silva’s Everton were 2-0 up against Newcastle United before suffering an embarrasing defeat that leaves them 11th in the Premier League table.
Michael Ball has compared Everton to Real Madrid when speaking to the Liverpool Echo – but not necessarily for the right reasons.
The Toffees were expected to fight for a place in the top six this season after finally hiring their long-standing managerial target Marco Silva last summer while welcoming Andre Gomes, Lucas Digne, Richarlison and Yerry Mina to Goodison Park.
But the season is quickly becoming a disaster. Everton are 11th in the table and hit a new low on Saturday when they collapsed at St James’ Park, losing away to Newcastle United despite being two goals up with half an hour remaining.
And former Everton left-back Ball says this latest defeat should be a reality check for a side who continue to look far less than the sum of their parts.
“At 2-0 we were looking quite comfortable (against Newcastle). But then, the mindset once again cost us. We seem to think we’re Real Madrid when we’re 2-0 up and we forget to do the hard, nasty work,” said Ball, who played for the Merseysiders between 1996 and 2001.
“There’s a lack of leadership, of composure, and when we get rattled our heads instantly seem to go down. We lose our game plan.
“We need to cut all of that out of our game as soon as possible, because it’s happening far too often.”
Real themselves are enduring something of a nightmare season, sitting 12 points behind La Liga leaders Barcelona while dropping out of the Copa del Rey and the Champions League in the space of one historic week.
But at least they are not stuck in mid-table, closer to the relegation zone than the top six.
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