BT Sport pundit Chris Sutton has delivered a brutal verdict on Everton after their dismal 5-1 home loss to Atalanta in the Europa League – and predicted it spells the end of David Unsworth’s spell in charge.
Unsworth, leading the side into his fifth game as caretaker manager, watched on as the Toffees capitulated at Goodison Park in a game that was essentially a dead rubber.
Everton’s exit from the competition was already confirmed with their 3-0 loss to Lyon last time out, and their poor form in Europe continued as the Italian side ran amok in the last ten minutes.
The Toffees went behind early to a Bryan Cristante goal before Joel Robles saved a second-half penalty. The deficit was nevertheless doubled before Sandro Ramirez scored his first goal for the club to revive Everton hopes.
However, a goal from substitute Robin Gosens and a brace from Cardiff flop Andreas Cornelius sealed a 5-1 win for Atalanta, who are having a pretty average season in Serie A, sitting 12th after 13 games.
Sutton, who commentated on the match for BT Sport, did not hold back in his criticism of the Toffees, labelling them ‘pathetic’, claiming it was the end of Unsworth’s hopes of taking the vacant managerial post.
.@btsportfootball Everton embarrassing tonight.. 1-5 to Atalanta ??????????Meaningless or not that was a pathetic display. It must spell the end of Unsworth but he maybe better off out of it after this…
— Chris Sutton (@chris_sutton73) November 23, 2017
OPINION
On that showing, it is impossible to disagree with Sutton here. Usually the former Blackburn man seems to be negative for the sake of it, but he is spot on with his criticism this time. Dead rubber or not, Everton’s players need to start playing for the team, the club, and the fans, not just themselves. Maybe this comes back to the uncertainty surrounding their next manager, and the blame may well sit with the board. As Sutton says, it is highly unlikely that Unsworth will get the job now, but how culpable he is personally for the defeat is questionable. Farhad Moshiri and Bill Kenwright need to put their heads together and figure out who is the right man to take on the job quickly, or the Toffees’ slide is just going to continue.