Everton were far from the better team on sunday afternoon, but that’s not to suggest that they did not deserve something from the game.
After all, despite having all the ball, Aston Villa only really created a few clear-cut opportunities, about the same number as Sean Dyche’s team did.
In addition to the two goals they scored, Dominic Calvert-Lewin had two excellent opportunities when he faced Emiliano Martinez one-on-one.
In the first, he dallied and ran into a defender who was backing up, and in the second, he forcefully hit the bar.
However, there was still another opportunity when they may have won a point if Orel Mangala had been a little cuter on his debut.
Jamie Carragher questions Orel Mangala
In the ninetieth minute, Sky Sports attempted to tie the score, and they methodically detailed the incident.
The ball was bouncing around just outside the Villa penalty area when the Everton deadline-day acquisition grabbed it and danced back into the box.
However, met with the outstretched leg of an opposition defender, he bravely, and arguably quite naively, stayed on his feet.
It was described as such: ‘Villa don’t clear their lines and Mangala pounces on the loose ball on the edge of the penalty area. Maatsen slides in with a challenge and he’s so close to bringing the Everton midfielder down. However, Mangala stays on his feet but cannot get a shot in on goal.’
Jamie Carragher reacted on the live commentary: ‘Why did he not go down there? I will get a lot of abuse on social media now for saying that!’
Everton now have a huge run of Premier League fixtures
With yesterday marking their fourth straight loss in a row, Everton now have an almighty run of fixtures laid out ahead of them which they simply need to pick up points in.
Particularly for Dyche, whose job seems very much still up in the air.
Starting on Tuesday as they host Southampton in the EFL Cup, they then travel to Leicester City, another potential relegation rival, before hosting Crystal Palace and Newcastle United in crucial back-to-back home matches.
They just cannot afford to lose the upcoming away trip to Ipswich Town. After that, they have home games against Fulham, Southampton, West Ham, and Brentford.
Anything less than 12 points from those eight Premier League games would be absurd.
