Harsh lesson
to European football after 26 years with a win far easier than they could have imagined.
Koeman had demanded a reaction to successive league defeats against Chelsea and Tottenham – and he got one.
The kind of reaction every manager dreads with his players looking low on confidence, out of ideas and vulnerable at the back.
A reunion with Romelu Lukaku at Old Trafford on Sunday is the last thing Everton need right now, judging by the way they dealt with Atalanta’s attacking forays. So bad were Everton, some fans left at half-time.
Atalanta opened the scoring when Andrea Masiello was left unmarked at the far post to tap home Alejandro Gomez’s corner in the 27th minute having been brilliantly denied by Maarten Stekelenburg moments earlier.
The marauding Masiello was again thwarted by the Everton goalkeeper but Stekelenburg could do nothing when Gomez let fly from 22 yards after easily sidestepping Nikola Vlasic to double the lead. That was in the 41st minute and moments before half-time it was 3-0, with Bryan Cristante taking Andrea Petagna’s pass in his stride to beat Stekelenburg with a right-foot finish.
Wayne Rooney forced Etrit Berisha into a routine save at his near post 30 seconds after the restart but it was Atalanta who came closest to extending their advantage.
The excellent Gomez should have done better than fire over the bar when left unmarked and Remo Freuler then skimmed the bar with a fierce 20-yard drive.
It was so easy for the Italians, they slowed the game down in the closing stages and still looked quicker than Everton.
ATALANTA (3-5-2): EVERTON (4-2-3-1): Booked: Referee: Goals: Booked: