That was terrible. A dreadful Everton team succumbed to a late, late winner as they lost at home to West Ham tonight.
This was another typical Everton performance we’ve seen so many times down the years. They were lethargic and poor but were holding on for a draw when the Hammers scored with four minutes left and so instead of at least a point, the Toffees are left with nothing.
This evening wasn’t just a routine game as Everton had the chance to move to second in the Premier League and get 2021 off to a winning start so maintaining the momentum they had built up over the previous month.
The home team had also been given an unexpected additional period of rest after Monday’s match was cancelled, but it didn’t seem to do them any good.
In fact the side looked more jaded than they had before that postponement. All the games they’ve played and so many injured absentees in December seemed to catch up with a lot of those players tonight.
Carlo Ancelotti picked Bernard to play in place of Alex Iwobi on the right and although he wasn’t the worst Toffees player, the team missed the pace and drive of Iwobi on the right.
He also restored Seamus Coleman at right-back and moved Mason Holgate to central defence to give Micheal Keane a rest. Otherwise the side was pretty much as expected with Tom Davies joining Gylfi Sigurdsson in midfield.
More from Prince Rupert's Tower
- Everton 0 Arsenal 1: Blues fall to third home defeat
- Further chaos in Everton takeover as other lenders not keen on 777 Partners
- Everton need repeat of Arsenal win to kick-start their season on Sunday
- More madness at Everton as Moshiri now agrees to sell club to 777 Partners
- Everton takeover talk cools after UK govt doubts and further questions
The match was a truly awful game between two teams neither of whom produced any real quality throughout the entire 90 minutes. I don’t think either side deserved to win.
Both defences were well on top and it was obvious West Ham were very much coming for a draw.
In the first half there were times when the two teams were struggling to string any passes together let alone create a decent chance in front of the goal.
In fact the first half was so bad that there hadn’t been a single shot on target until right near the end.
The second half wasn’t much better either and the match lacked pace, composure, imagination and creativity from either team.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin was again isolated too often up front and he had his poorest match this season. Richarlison was very ordinary too and often seemed determined to try and shoot rather than find a pass.
Later in the half West Ham manager David Moyes brought on Michail Antonio to add some much-needed energy and drive up front for his side.
With Antonio leading the attack the Hammers had the better of the second half chances and forced a few decent opportunities.
Ancelotti also responded to the dour game by bringing on James Rodriguez, obviously not fit enough to start and Andre Gomes. Rodriguez, injected a little life into the Blues attacking football.
However, the game looked destined for a goalless draw before yet again Everton conceded at a set-piece late on. Enough said.