Everton suffered their first defeat of the season
Everton’s wafer thin squad depth was exposed as Aston Villa secured a 3-0 victory with a compelling performance. Despite an evenly matched first half, Everton failed to maintain the momentum as Villa turned the tempo and punished the Toffees.
Everton were forced to make three changes in the lineup as Jordan Pickford, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Seamus Coleman and Richarlison were ruled out due to injuries. Salomon Rondon, Alex Iwobi and Asmir Begovic started in place of the injured players.
The Toffees being without their first choice goalkeeper, the striker duo and the captain did hurt them a lot. There was no sign of James Rodriguez either. Everton’s unbeaten run came to an end as Rafa Benitez lost his first game at Villa Park, on his 10th visit to the stadium as an opposition manager.
Here are the Everton player ratings vs Aston Villa:
Asmir Begovic – 6
Asmir Begovic produced a brilliant save in the first half from a close range powerful Tyrone Mings header. The Bosnian then conceded three goals in the second half but there was very little he could have done to stop either of the three goals. Cash and Leon Bailey had struck the ball with unbelievable power while Digne’s flick was not easy to handle and the ball ended in the back of the net.