Everton’s James Rodriguez endured a nightmarish Tuesday evening as he and Colombia suffered a humbling 6-1 defeat to Ecuador.
The former Real Madrid playmaker did manage to net his side’s only goal, albeit from the penalty spot with Ecuador already leading 4-0 at that point.
While you could argue that the entire match was a moment to forget for Rodriguez, one incident was particularly embarrassing – we’re sure he’ll want to forget it as soon as possible.
In the 54th minute, Sporting Lisbon forward Gonzalo Plata performed an audacious backheel nutmeg on the former Bayern Munich man.
Plata even managed to collect the ball afterwards and race away from a shell-shocked Rodriguez, who had just been well and truly skilled up.
To be fair to the Colombian – who earns £90,000-a-week at Goodison Park (Spotrac) – Plata embarrassed a number of Rodriguez’s teammates as well after netting a fine goal.
The 20-year-old played a fine give-and-go before curling a stunning effort past Camilo Vargas and into the back of the net via the post.
Specifically though, Rodriguez will surely be feeling livid after being nutmegged while his side were already losing 4-1.
What Plata did rubbed salt in the Everton star’s wounds.
Hopefully, Rodriguez can put it behind him with a good performance against Fulham this Sunday.
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