Everton crashed out of the FA Cup with a heavy 4-0 defeat away at Crystal Palace in the quarter-final.
Marc Guehi and Jean-Phillippe Mateta strikes gave the Eagles a 2-0 half-time lead before Wilfried Zaha and Will Hughes each swept home rebounds in the final 11 minutes of the match to complete the rout.
It was a limp display from Frank Lampard’s men as their defensive frailties were once again put on show against a clinical Palace outfit.
The Blues actually started the match impressively as they energetically kept the hosts trapped in their own half and Richarlison wasted a couple of good opportunities to find the net.
However, the match changed on 17 minutes when Andros Townsend was forced off with an injury against the club that had released him in the summer.
Eight minutes later, Guehi gave the Eagles the lead with his first ever goal for the club, a routine header from a corner.
After that, Everton struggled to rekindle their intensity of the opening 20 minutes and before the interval, Mateta had doubled Palace’s lead, finishing off a well-worked move.
The Toffees brought on Dominic Calvert-Lewin for the second half, but the centre forward received absolutely no service and it was becoming clear that the Blues were heading out of the cup with a whimper.
Their afternoon worsened on 79 minutes when Michael Olise’s strike clipped the post and Zaha reacted quickest to convert the rebound.
It was 4-0 moments later when Conor Gallagher found himself in acres of space and drew a good save out of Jordan Pickford, which fell only to Hughes and he made no mistake.
It was another concerning performance from the Blues and Lampard made it clear in his post-match press conference just how angry he was, questioning the players’ mentality.
The loss ends dreams of silverware for yet another season for the Toffees and they now turn their attention firmly back onto Premier League survival.
About The Author
Leave a Reply