Glenn Hoddle slams Everton defender Michael Keane in defeat v Brighton

Glenn Hoddle has criticised Everton defender Michael Keane for his performance after the Toffees lost 3-2 against Brighton.

The Toffees defender was nowhere near for Brighton’s second goal scored by Dan Burn who headed in when unmarked at the back post.

Anthony Gordon produced a heroic performance, but two goals from Alexis Mac Allister made all the difference.

Everton

Hoddle said to Premier League Tv production: “Yes, it’s poor. If you watch Keane at the back post, he has got Burn, he just drifts.

“I don’t know where his mind is. He’s thinking (about) what he can do at the near post…no, his job is to mark the back post.

“He is nowhere. I don’t understand that marking. Lack of concentration.”

Poor defending

Jordan Pickford must be the most frustrated player on the pitch as he was not at fault for all three goals.

Everton started with a five-man defence ahead of him, but there was no cohesion among them, while individual errors made life easy for the visitors.

Keane, a senior member of the side, was very poor throughout the game. Not only he has made positional blunders, but his overall contributions have been below par.

Everton

He made so many misplaced passes during the game, and in one case, apologised to his teammates after failing to find an easy pass that disrupted a fantastic attack that was building up.

Benitez is known to be a manager who is good at defensive organisation but his zonal marking system is proving to be least effective with the current group of players.

This is simply unacceptable, and the patience among the fans is gradually getting thin. Benitez will lose the fans and the dressing room shortly if the results do not improve.

At the moment, Everton fans are struggling to see any such ray of hope.

In other Everton news, the Toffees are watching three players in one position ahead of the January window

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