Everton: Danny Murphy brands Seamus Coleman as ‘naive’ in clash v Liverpool
BBC pundit Danny Murphy slammed Seamus Coleman for his “naive” handling of Darwin Nunez in Liverpool’s opening goal against Everton on 13 February.
Coleman looked far from in a hurry to get back and catch Nunez as the Reds counterattacked perfectly after a narrowly missed James Tarkowski header.
Speaking on TalkSPORT (13 February, 20:51), Murphy lambasted Coleman for not attempting to take down and foul the pacey Nunez in an attempt to stop the goal.
“Coleman has got all the experience,” Murphy said on talkSPORT (13 February, 20:51)
“He knows that if Nunez skips past him, Liverpool are clear on goal. He’s got to take Nunez down, take him down [and] stop the counter-attack. It’s naive.”
Tough night.
It was a tough old night to be an Evertonian and the Blues simply didn’t show up against a far better Liverpool outfit at Anfield.
The difference in class was all too apparent but the physical Everton side that dominated Arsenal only a week ago seemed to have been lost in the noise and occasion of the Merseyside derby.
Nevertheless, three points from Dyche’s first two games against Premier League juggernauts will be taken by most fans despite the disappointing performance against Liverpool.
Kicking on from this and challenging Leeds at Goodison Park on 18 February is now pivotal and there is little time to waste in the harsh and hectic Premier League calendar.
Dyche and Blues face an uphill struggle to get their campaign back on track but the Englishman surely has some tricks up his sleeves to deploy in the coming months.
The last thing Evertonians want is another relegation dogfight, but losing to Leeds United on Saturday may imply that the team are gearing up towards another one.