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SEAMUS COLEMAN delivered a damning assessment of Everton’s display.
“Shocking, really, really bad,” said the skipper. “There’s no hiding place.Wolves were better all over the pitch and we need to ask some serious questions of ourselves.”
Wolves could – and should – have won by a much bigger margin.
They were leading 1-0 at the interval thanks to a stoppage-time penalty, but only Jordan Pickford had kept the score down.
For the penalty Lucas Digne sent Daniel Podence sprawling with a clumsy challenge and Raul Jimenez made no mistake.
Then debutant Jarrad Branthwaite, a half-time sub, fouled Pedro Neto and when Neto curled the free-kick across, Branthwaite lost his man.
The impressive Leander Dendoncker steamed past him and got the sweetest of touches to glance a header into the far corner.
Pickford was lucky when he fumbled a Podence shot and just managed to scramble it back off the line, then Diogo Jota blew a chance.
He made amends when he raced on to a 60-yard pass from Ruben Neves, took it on his chest and rifled home.
That Pickford emerged as Everton’s star perhaps says it all. Coleman added: “We can all play badly, we can all misplace passes, misplace crosses. But when the attitude isn’t there, the desire...
“We weren’t there today.We were beaten by the better team. Maybe we’re not where we think we are, but we’re 12th in the table for a reason.
“Sometimes these are the things you have to say.”
Boss Carlo Ancelotti said: “I’ve spoken to them.We need to have a different attitude. It’s difficult to accept.
“The attitude has to be different and it will be different.”
Despite the margin of victory,Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo wasn’t totally happy and picked out a glaring Adama Traore miss. He said: “Our finishes were not so good.Adama is not going to have an easier one.
“It’s always about trying to upgrade and raise standards.” WOLVES (3-4-3): Patricio 7; Boly 7, Coady 7, Saiss 7; Doherty 7, Dendoncker 8, Neves 7, Jonny 7; Neto 7 (Jota 56, 6), Jimenez 7 (Mouitnho 78), Podence 7. Goals: Jimenez 45, Dendoncker 46, Jota 74.
EVERTON (3-5-2): Pickford 7; Digne 5, Mina 5 (Coleman 31, 5), Keane 6; Walcott 5 (Bernard 56, 5), Davies 5, Sigurdsson 5, Gordon 5 (Iwobi 56, 5), Baines 5 (Branthwaite 46, 4); Calvert-Lewin 6, Richarlison 5 (Kean 63, 5).