Alan Shearer says exactly who’s to blame for Everton collapse vs Bournemouth
Everton missed a big chance to lay down a marker in the race for European football.
Iliman Ndiaye opened the scoring at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Tuesday, before second-half goals from Rayan and Amine Adli saw Bournemouth beat Everton 2-1.
Everton sit eighth in the Premier League after launching themselves into European contention with a 2-1 victory against Fulham at the weekend, though they missed a big chance to make a claim ahead of the season’s crunch point with Sunderland falling to defeat against Liverpool.
After being dumped out of the FA Cup by the Black Cats last month, David Moyes’ side have a break from league action this weekend, before hosting Manchester United on February 23.
Following the loss against Bournemouth, Match of the Day pundit Alan Shearer suggests that Everton can only blame themselves as their poor home run continues.
Alan Shearer drops claim on Everton loss vs Bournemouth
It was a tale of two halves on Merseyside, with a quickfire double from Rayan and Adli securing all three points for the travelling Cherries, while Everton’s Jake O’Brien was sent off in the 69th minute.
Manager Moyes insisted that his side had done enough to win, and Shearer agreed, suggesting that the Toffees proved the authors of their own downfall.
“I agree with Moyes and what he said,” Shearer outlined on Match of the Day.
“They certainly had one or two really good chances to get a second goal last night, and then it would have been a lot more difficult for Bournemouth.”
Everton striker Thierno Barry would see arguably the biggest chance following Ndiaye’s penalty, when his 54th-minute effort inside the box was blocked by Alex Jimenez.
In the space of the subsequent 10 minutes, Bournemouth would complete the turnaround to draw level on points with Everton.
Shearer added that: “[Everton] have only got themselves to blame.”
Everton home form sees them miss a big opportunity
Everton’s form since moving to Hill Dickinson Stadium has not hit the levels expected of a side in a race for European football, and this could be a big factor come May.
Just 16 of the Toffees’ 37 points have came on Merseyside, while they have won just four times.
Their recent run does not look too promising either, with Everton winless on home soil since beating Nottingham Forest 3-0 in December.
Since then, they have dropped points to multiple sides at the wrong end of the table, including bottom-dwellers Wolves, who picked up a 1-1 draw at the start of January.
If the Toffees are to go on and claim a European spot, they need to begin taking points at home. Though things don’t exactly look up, with Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City all yet to visit Hill Dickinson Stadium.