Leon Osman blasts what ‘Sloppy’ Doucoure did in Everton v Nottingham Forest
Leon Osman blasted Abdoulaye Doucoure for what he did in the build-up to the second Nottingham Forest goal against Everton.
The ex-Toffee believes Sean Dyche’s team were the architects of their own downfall as Morgan Gibbs-White doubled the visitors’ lead around the hour mark at Goodison Park on Sunday (29 December).
Doucoure gave the ball away in the middle of the park as Nuno Espirito Santo’s team took the three points with a 2-0 victory.
Speaking on the USA Network (29 December), Osman said: “It actually comes from an Everton mistake I feel. I think it was a good ball forward. Everton actually won the initial second ball as it’s knocked down. I think Doucoure gets on it first. This is a real bit of sloppy play from him.
“Just picking out Elanga, and from that moment, I wondered whether Chris Wood would go for goal himself. He didn’t. He spotted a brilliant run from Morgan Gibbs White.
“It’s just their own problems playing themselves into this predicament.”
Everton deserved loss against Nottingham Forest
The Blues were seemingly lucky not to have a man sent off in the fixture, with James Tarkowski on the brink of a red card during the 90 minutes.
Jarrad Branthwaite could’ve also received his marching orders in the second half after a strong challenge on Gibbs-White.
Armando Broja was handed his first start of the season, with Dyche opting to drop Dominic Calvert-Lewin to the bench.
Everton are now 16th in the Premier League table and three points off the relegation zone.
The Toffees have performed well in recent weeks following draws against Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City, but the loss to Forest is damaging.
Bournemouth are next for the Blues in the English top flight, and Andoni Iraola’s team won’t be easy to get past.
The Merseyside outfit have some tough fixtures coming up in January and need to be solid to avoid slipping down the table.
In other Everton news, Michael Ball was left raging after what he saw in the Forest clash.
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