Dreadful defeat leaves Everton Euro hopes hanging by a thread – by Matt Townsend

It was just like Groundhog Day again as Everton slumped to another disastrous defeat at Goodison Park with a 2-1 loss last night against Aston Villa.

These home defeats are now getting beyond ridiculous as the Toffees again succumbed and failed to pick up a point at the grand old lady for the eighth time this season.

I don’t know what to think anymore about this team and you run out of words for the seemingly unending capacity of this set of players to find a way to lose a game at Goodison Park.

Just before the game kicked-off it was revealed that James Rodriguez wasn’t fit and would be replaced by Alex Iwobi.

The Nigerian international was given yet another chance to give any indication that he can deliver and have any long-term future at Everton but he was again hugely disappointing and produced nothing of substance.

The Blues as a whole were hugely disappointing and delivered another really poor performance against a Villa side shorn of their best and only genuinely world-class player; Jack Grealish.

But even though Grealish was absent, Villa had much more purpose than Everton and were dangerous every time they got the ball and went forward with centre-forward Olly Watkins a constant threat while the home team’s defence was looking very vulnerable.

Strangely despite having both Yerry Mina and Micheal Keane fit and available Carlo Ancelotti decided to partner Ben Godfrey and Mason Holgate at centre-back. I say this because given Watkins direct, physical threat one or other (preferably Mina) should have been in the team.

I would have played the back three that Ancelotti has often used recently and then push Seamus Coleman and Lucas Digne forward to provide the width that the Blues badly lacked last night.

After a pretty non-descript start to the match, Villa were gifted the lead by yet another unforced defensive error as Holgate turned and lazily passed the ball back towards Jordan Pickford and Watkins nipped in and slotted the ball past the Everton keeper.

The Toffees did recover quickly though and responded well as Dominic Calvert-Lewin rose powerfully at the far post and headed in for the equalizer.

But Villa were still the better side and looked more compact and composed with Everton sloppy again in possession and so often and giving the ball away far too cheaply. And they then had Pickford to thank for keeping them in the match as the England keeper pulled off several huge saves.

He made a smart save from Watkins and acrobatically clawed out a shot from Villa’s Traore that looked like it was looping into the net and so somehow the Blues got to halftime still level.

Then after the break Everton had a brief spell in which they created a few good chances but again as they often have recently, those chances were spurned and Villa were still ultimately looking pretty comfortable.

As in the first half the Toffees were poor and struggled to put much good football together and then Ancelotti made several substitutions as he brought Fabian Delph, strangely, and Josh King on to try and win it.

But then came Villa’s second goal, which would prove the winner as following more loose passing form the Blues, the ball was lost and Villa’s Anwar El Ghazi had loads of space to tee up a shot that arrowed into the top corner of Pickford’s goal.

Everton never looked like that would be able to find a way to get another equaliser let alone win the game and time ran out on another home match and probably on the Toffees now very slim hopes of European football.