Karen Carney reacts as Allan and Michael Keane in frank Everton exchange v Wolves

Allan and Michael Keane were locked in a passionate exchange after Wolves had a first-half goal disallowed against Everton on Monday evening.

Hwang Hee-chan thought he had opened the scoring on 15 minutes for Wolves after a mazy Raul Jimenez run, but the South Korean’s effort was ruled out after a VAR review.

As the review was underway, the Sky Sports cameras panned around the pitch and showed two big-money Everton players in deep discussion.

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It continued even after the goal was chalked off, and speaking on live commentary for Sky Sports, ex-England international Karen Carney suggested what might have been said between the Blues duo.

“Just looking at the Everton players now, they’ll all be talking to each other about being a little bit more compact,” Carney said.

“Look, [there’s a] coming together. There’s definitely a problem with Allan and Keane. They’re saying ‘look, we need to stop those spaces, that’s where the problems are coming from’.”

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Inquest

Hee-chan’s effort may have been ruled out, but it was a scrappy bit of play in the Everton penalty area, and a marginal offside call does not take away from the deficiencies in the Blues backline.

It was a sign of things to come as the Everton defence imploded in the first half, with Max Kilman first on the scoresheet after meeting a corner from Rayan Ait Nouri.

Just minutes after that, Ben Godfrey sent a careless backpass into the path of Raul Jimenez who streaked clear of the Everton defence to send the ball past Jordan Pickford.

Rafa Benitez will be the man held responsible for the first-half shocker, but the players must take a great degree of responsibility as well.

The Spaniard cannot account for basic individual errors, and as senior players, it falls on the likes of Allan and Keane to root out those mistakes on the pitch.

It didn’t seem to work in the first half, however, as Wolves ran riot at Molineux.

In other Everton news, this injured Blues ace is set for an extended absence after a behind-the-scenes order.

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