Rudderless Toffees are lost at sea...
THE scoreline, for once, didn’t matter. Nothing was riding on the result, save for the updating of statistics and history books.
What really mattered was this bewildering situation. The flagging spirits, the inertia and plight of a proud club that appears to be drifting like a ship without a rudder.
Everton sacked Ronald Koeman 32 days ago and their failure to appoint a permanent successor is beginning to grip hold. Farhad Moshiri, the club’s major shareholder, will be guilty of gross negligence if his mind has not been focused by this situation.
This was the team’s 11th defeat in their last 17 matches, the 12th consecutive fixture they’ve failed to keep a clean sheet.
Wayne Rooney acknowledged that team pride had been sorely wounded by this latest drubbing. He said: ‘There was nothing riding on the game but it’s our pride.
‘We all have to play a role. Obviously there’s been a change of manager. It’s been a positive change in terms of performances, tonight aside.’
Rooney wouldn’t be drawn on the subject of a new manager, but no blame can be attached to caretaker boss David Unsworth for a mess left behind by others. But ever a scene reflected the current mood at the club this was it.
Goodison Park was empty, rafts of blue seats indicating how switched off the fan base has become. Atalanta had already stripped Everton bare in September, a 3-0 defeat in the opening Group E game leaving the alarm bells clanging.
Everton haven’t recovered since. Unsworth may have urged the squad to restore some pride and provided some encouragement to those who had ventured out on a filthy evening. But he got nothing. Just the same dross on a different day.
Within 12 minutes, the Italians had the lead. Timothy Castagne scuttled down the right before crossing into the centre.
Ashley Williams tried to clear but Bryan Cristante thumped his finish beyond Joel Robles. Everton had chances before the interval and could have gone in with parity.
Sandro Ramirez had the best of those, horribly slicing over the bar after good work by Kevin Mirallas, while Tom Davies’ left-footed volley was headed off the line by Rafael Toloi.
After the break, Atalanta’s Alejandro Gomez saw a penalty saved by Robles after Cristante was chopped down by Williams.
But Cristante doubled Atalanta’s advantage in the 64th minute, getting between Williams and Davies to glance home a header before Everton’s Sandro drilled in his first goal since his £5million arrival from Malaga.
Everton collapsed in the dying moments, allowing subs Robin Gosens and Andreas Cornelius to score in the 86th and 87th minutes. Cornelius added a fifth in stoppage time.
It was an embarrassment to a club that prides itself on fighting. Not on this evidence.