Everton allowed themselves to be distracted by latest ‘perceived injustice’ in Man Utd loss, says Guardian journo
Everton allowed themselves to be “distracted” by a latest “perceived injustice” in their 3-0 defeat to Manchester United on Sunday (26 November), according to the Guardian reporter John Brewin.
A fired-up Goodison Park protested loudly against a 10-point deduction handed out for a breach of the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules, but Alejandro Garnacho’s stunning early overhead kick silenced the noise briefly.
Everton were up in arms in the second half when John Brooks overturned a booking for Anthony Martial following a trip from ex-Red Devils defender Ashley Young, an incident Brewin felt the Toffees played on too much.
Brewin wrote for the newspaper’s online version on Monday (27 November): “If injustice was Everton’s fuel, they never quite caught fire against Manchester United. Beyond their 10-point penalty, Goodison Park rattled with the sound of further injustice, with just about every refereeing decision barracked.
“It is not uncommon for fans to believe referees are biased against their club, such complaints are heard at every ground in the world but John Brooks actually ruled – and wrongly, as shown by VAR – in Everton’s favour when booking Anthony Martial for a dive when Ashley Young had committed an injudicious foul. A siege mentality is fair enough considering the circumstances and during the first half there were signs it was an effective motivation tool.
“But becoming distracted by the perceived injustice of Brooks’s decisions only served to drop heads. Sean Dyche has form for deflecting towards officialdom but perhaps concentrating on creating better, clearer chances for his forwards would be a superior means of kicking against the pricks than enabling fans’ persecution complex.”
Fair call but more bad luck
After all the off-field distractions that have plagued Everton in recent weeks, there was finally an opportunity to get back to the nitty and gritty of actually playing football matches, a welcome solace no doubt.
But the afternoon sort of typified Everton’s luck. Garnacho’s goal was something out of this world, a one-in-a-million attempt that on another day he might not have even tried to pull off, but on this day he nailed it to score an all-time Premier League classic.
The sense that everything is against use was only heightened by the penalty incident, from which Marcus Rashford made it 2-0. Speaking truthfully, it was the correct decision and in isolation actually a good example of how VAR can be a force for good when implemented correctly.
It did, though, just once again feel like “why us?” It’s a mentality Everton have to get out of quickly, they actually responded well to going behind and had enough chances to go into the break level. There’s no need to hit any panic buttons just yet.
In other Everton news, Roy Keane shared his relegation verdict on the Toffees following the Man Utd loss.