Michael Ball furious over lack of Everton desire in defeat to Manchester City
Everton lacked desire and had a poor mentality in their 3-0 defeat to Manchester City on Sunday, Michael Ball said.
The Toffees were convincingly beaten at the Etihad Stadium, leaving them with just two points from their last six Premier League games.
It means that the pressure is increasing on manager Rafa Benitez, but Ball argues that it is the players who need questioning.
Writing in his latest column for the Liverpool Echo, the former Toffees defender said: “There doesn’t seem to be any hurt when they lose the ball. It seems accepted by individuals and it’s accepted by their team-mates. Who is giving them that rollicking to tell them to do it properly?
“We didn’t expect much from the game but you can show a bit of desire and leave everything out there on the pitch but we never did that.
“Fans can go to the game expecting to be beaten but players can’t be crossing that white line thinking that because that kind of mentality isn’t going to get you anywhere.”
Spot on
Sunday’s game was difficult to watch from an Everton perspective, as the Toffees were simply outclassed by a far superior side.
Manchester City may be the Premier League champions, but Rafa Benitez’s men didn’t ever look like troubling them at the Etihad Stadium.
In truth, Everton were fortunate not to concede more than three goals, with Ilkay Gundogan hitting the crossbar and Jordan Pickford making good saves to deny Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling.
The Merseyside outfit are firmly in a rut that looks difficult to get out of. They travel to Brentford next weekend, but then face Liverpool, Arsenal and Chelsea in the first two weeks of December.
With the injury issues mounting, the players who are available need to be giving everything out on the pitch and putting in performances that fans can be proud of.
In other Everton news, the future of one Toffees play is in doubt after Rafa Benitez’s decision on Sunday.
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