OPINION
Ronald Koeman named a changed line-up to face Atalanta in the Europa league on Thursday evening – and might be wishing he hadn’t.
He made six changes to the team that lost 3-0 to Tottenham at the weekend, with Nikola Vlasic, Maarten Stekenlenburg, Phil Jagielka, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Mason Holgate and Mo Besic all starting.
They played an Atalanta side that are struggling in Serie A, in 13th position, with just one win and two defeats from three games.
It was the first time Atalanta had competed in Europe for 26 years, but they looked the sharper team and took the lead through Andrea Masiello in the 27th minute.
That should have given them a wake-up call, but Everton stayed a yard off the pace throughout the first half and conceded a stunning second goal from Alejandro Gomez in the 41st minute.
And it got worse as Bryan Christante added a third before half time after a terrible pass from the heart of the Everton defence.
Everton were slightly better in the second half, but never looked like getting back into the game and Atalanta always looked the most likely to score, despite having already won the game.
This Is Futbol rates the Everton players out of 10, with just one player getting as high as a seven – and it might not be who you’re expecting…