CRASH & BURNLEY

Koeman’s nightmare goes on as Everton struggle to cope with the loss of Lukaku & shattered confidence

SO what now for Ronald Koeman? A season that began with optimism is turning into a nightmare for Everton’s manager. His players look bereft of confidence and his attack looks devoid of threat. With every passing week, the failure to replace Romelu Lukaku looks more and more costly. A day after Lukaku tapped in his 11th goal n 10 games i for Manchester United, Everton’s forward line laboured as they failed to break down a solid Burnley side. Oumar Niasse, the striker brought back from the wilderness by Koeman after 16 months out of the team, was a willing runner but lacked guile, as did Dominic CalvertLewin, his strike partner. Wayne Rooney, the prodigal son who was meant to inspire Everton to improve on last season’s seventh-place finish, was reduced to the role of bit-part player yesterday, dropped to the bench for the first time since ending a 13year stay at Old Trafford to return to his boyhood club. On e mom ent summed up Rooney’s day, and Everton’s season. With eight minutes left, and his team trailing, he gathered the ball in a spot not too far from where he scored the wonder goal against Arsenal in 2002 that made his name. This time, there was no rippling of the net, no flailing goalkeeper and no Goodison roar. Instead, the shot sailed harmlessly over. With Lukaku gone, Everton lack goals. They have scored just four in seven league matches this season and rarely looked like getting back into the match once Jeff Hendrick had rounded off an astonishing 24-pass move to give Burnley a 21st-minute lead. Up until that moment, Everton had been the better side. Niasse had caused Burnley’s defence some early panic and almost caught out goalkeeper Nick Pope as he chased a bouncing ball into the penalty area before Stephen Ward scrambled clear. Gylfi Sigurdsson, who has so far failed to live up to his £45million price-tag, had a couple of sights of goal too, with one shot driven straight at Pope following a Calvert-lewin break, and another blocked by a timely intervention from the impressive Jack Cork. Everton might have hoped for a morale-boosting home win at that stage but went to pieces after Burnley, still unbeaten away from home, took the lead. It was a fine goal – not just because of the number of passes in the build-up but

also for the way Hendrick finished , taking on Ward’s cut-back from the left, sidestepping Schneiderlin and then wrong footing Jordan Pickford to slot in.

After that, Everton’s confidence drained as quickly as water down a plug hole. Ash- ley Williams made mistake after mistake at the back, while his central-defensive partner Michael Keane looked uneasy, still struggling to settle after his summer move from Turf Moor.

Calvert-lewin had two or three sights of goal after half-time, heading wide one Cuco Martina cross and seeing a late low shot gathered easily by Pope.

There were a couple of penalty appeals in the final five minutes, but referee Jon Moss was right to turn down both.