Stephen Warnock reacts to McNeil and Onana controversy in Aston Villa v Everton, ‘lazy play’
Stephen Warnock has reacted to the controversial build-up to Dwight McNeil’s goal for Everton in the 3-2 loss to Aston Villa.
McNeil won the ball in the final third after a tussle with former teammate Amadou Onana, who stayed on the ground following the challenge, and the Blues forward handed his side the lead early in the first half against the run of play.
The Aston Villa protests fell on deaf ears as the VAR officials awarded the goal and Warnock agreed with the decision, providing his reaction to the “lazy” Onana on Sky Sports Ref Watch [16 September] after Rob host Wotton asked if the goal should have stood.
He said: “He catches him off guard and wins the ball. I think it’s physical. I don’t think it’s a foul, I think it’s just lazy play from Onana.”
Amadou Onana lifeline didn’t matter in the end for Everton
Onana was in all the headlines in the build-up to the match on Saturday (14 September) as he prepared to face Everton for the first time since his £50million move to Aston Villa in the summer. However, the reunion didn’t work out as planned for the Belgian.
Unai Emery removed Onana at half-time, replacing him with Ross Barkley, another former Blue, who produced an excellent performance at Villa Park and set up Jhon Duran for his sensational long-range winning goal.
While all the attention will be on the second consecutive loss after a two-goal lead for Everton, a record they now share with Bournemouth, the match against Aston Villa highlighted more the failings of the Blues in their decision-making regarding their players.
Onana struggled against the Toffees but Barkley did not, and Lucas Digne, the third former Everton player of the day, sparked his side’s comeback against his former employers with an assist for Ollie Watkins’ first goal.
All three had mixed success on Merseyside but there is no doubt that given the chance, Everton supporters would welcome them back to Goodison Park in a heartbeat.
It is abundantly clear that the current crop at Finch Farm are nowhere near the required standard for a club the size of Everton, and despite showing positive signs at Villa Park, Sean Dyche will need to perform miracles with his group of players to battle against what is proving to be a long relegation fight this season.
In other Everton news, Blues sources speak out as BBC Sport shares Sean Dyche sack decision.
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