Aston Villa defeat leaves Everton European hopes in tatters

Another home game and another defeat in what is really fast becoming a farcical situation Everton were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa at Goodison Park last night.

This was a damaging defeat that has once again undermined, perhaps fatally, whatever slim hopes Everton had of securing European football next season.

This was yet another match that the Toffees could have won as they actually created enough chances without ever playing well and wasted plenty before the inevitable winner for the visitors punished the Blues profligacy.

In truth Villa also had a lot of opportunities, especially in the first half when if it hadn’t been for a terrific spell of saves from Jordan Pickford, Everton would have been two or three down half an hour into the match.

This was during a first half that was chaotic with a slew of chances at both ends, particularly the home end as the Toffees seemed incapable of any solid defending.

Just before the game Carlo Ancelotti revealed that James Rodriguez wouldn’t be fit to play and so Alex Iwobi came into the team in his place.

That was a blow and meant the Blues were without their key creative player but it was another chance for Iwobi to show what he could do. Again he failed to take that chance.

Right from the kick-off this was a match which featured plenty of slack passing and possession switched from one team to the other.

Both teams looked dangerous zt times when they got forward with Villa and their centre-forward Olly Watkins particularly threatening.

And it was Watkins who opened the scoring after yet another defensive error from a Toffees player. This time it was a lazy backpass from Mason Hogate that let the Villa forward in and he pounced and slotted the ball past Pickford for a totally absurd goal.

It was yet another toally avoidable goal to concede but Everton did reply quickly as Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed in powerfully from a deeply hit corner to the far post.

The match was open and end-to-end and now came the spell when it seemed the visitors might take control with Pickford saving again from Watkins and clawing away an almost certain goal from arguably Villa’s best player Traore.

Then ex-Everton youth team graduate Ross Barkley then hit the post too and the Blues were hanging on and wobbling badly.

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One of the big problems was that Ancelotti picked Holgate and Ben Godfrey together at centre-back with both Micheal Keane and Yerry Mina on the bench. And while both have pace and Godfrey was solid generally, they lack the height to deal with Watkins in particular so why wasn’t Keane or Mina starting?

Somehow the match was still1-1 at the break and after halftime Everton enjoyed their best little spell and created several good chances. But again as in recent games, especially home matches like Crystal Palace, they couldn’t take them.

As throughout the match, the home team were too easily conceding possession and once more that led to Villa’s second and ultimately winning goal.

Lost possession allowed Anwar El Ghazi to collect the ball and with oceans of space as no one closed him down, curled a superb shot into the top corner.

The Blues never looked like finding an equaliser let alone a winner and so it proved as Villa held on for their first away win since beating Leeds in February. Well if your in need of an away win come to Goodison Park!

For Everton this was yet another example of the bizzarly jekel and hyde nature of this team and could well prove the final nail in the coffin for their distant hopes of European qualification.

Villa defeat leaves Everton Euro hopes in tatters

By Matt Townsend | May 2, 2021

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