Thirteen minutes of madness that will worry Benitez
2-5 hconceding four goals at home in quick succession exposes the fragile mentality and lack of squad depth hindering Everton
78 minutes: Set-piece frailties
To concede one goal from a setpiece is frustrating. To concede two hints at a real problem. Without Yerry Mina, their best defender and biggest presence, Everton struggled all afternoon against a Watford side who were more physical and powerful. The shaky back line allowed midfielder Juraj Kucka to nod in the second equaliser, having missed the first header from Adam Masina’s free-kick that set Joshua King up for the equaliser in the first half.
80min: Poor game management
Just 88 seconds after Kucka’s equaliser, Everton were behind. They charged forward, desperate to grab a goal to claim the winner they expected from this game, but instead lost the ball in midfield and, as Watford broke, they had two-onone on the counter-attack with King helping himself to his second. It was naive game management and befitting of a school team.
Everton have now lost six of their past nine games at Goodison against newly-promoted sides, under Benitez, Carlo Ancelotti and Marco Silva. This is not a new problem and suggests there is a weak mentality in the dressing room. Unless Benitez eradicates that problem, Everton will struggle to break out of the mid-table positions they have been stuck in for the past few seasons.
86min: Toothless Rondon
By this stage, the hosts were in full panic mode and unable to clear the ball from their own area. King grabbed his hat-trick as he put the hapless Michael Keane on the floor and stroked the ball past Jordan Pickford. King was given only 138 minutes of football at Everton last season, in which he failed to score. The former Bournemouth player admitted to having “a point to prove” and showed it in a super display of leading the line. Everton have been without Dominic Calvertlewin since the end of August and Benitez revealed that the No9 would be out for another five weeks with a quadriceps injury. In his absence, they have won just two of six
league matches – against Burnley and Norwich – and been knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Championship side Queens Park Rangers.
Benitez brought in Salomon Rondon as cover for Calvert-lewin, and he is yet to score. He does not look like the player who led the line so well for the Spaniard at Newcastle.
91min: Lack of depth
The game was already up, but the visitors plundered a fifth goal – the most Everton have conceded in a league game at home since Tottenham scored six in December 2018. Emmanuel Dennis was one of three
Watford substitutes manager Claudio Ranieri made at 2-1 down. They all made a positive contribution to the turnaround. Everton could not even fill their bench. The eight names included two goalkeepers with Mina, Calvert-lewin and midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure, their best players in each position, all missing, but it shows that once past the first XI, the squad lack strength and depth. Everton have spent more than £500million on players since owner Farhad Moshiri took over in 2016, but Saturday’s display suggests there is not an awful lot to show for that expenditure.