Everton labelled 'zombies' by dumbstruck commentator live on air in Bournemouth loss

Everton players were labelled as "punch-drunk" and "zombies" by Perry Groves after losing 3-2 to Bournemouth in their Premier League match on Saturday.

Speaking on co-commentary for TalkSPORT 2 (31 August, 4:58pm), former Arsenal player Groves said he was in disbelief as Bournemouth came from 2-0 down to make it 2-2 in the final minutes of the match.

Luis Sinisterra then headed in a last-gap winner to complete a nine-minute turnaround at Goodison Park, and Groves didn't hold back with a scathing assessment of Sean Dyche and his players.

He said: “It’s stunned silence here, Everton fans can’t believe what they’re seeing – I can’t believe what I’m seeing!

“There are ten zombies now in Everton shirts. They are completely stunned.

“These ten outfield players all look like punch-drunk heavyweight boxers where they’ve been jabbed and jabbed, they’re just waiting for the knock-out punch.

“(Bournemouth) were dead and buried after 80 minutes, they weren't in the game, but the Everton players have completely lost their heads.

“They completely switched off defensively. You see their shoulders just hunch, and it was all over from then."

Everton hit rock bottom with last-gasp Bournemouth collapse

Being 2-0 up with just three minutes left on the clock should have been a formality for the Toffees, but instead they have suffered a nine-minute dissolution which leaves things looking bleak at Goodison Park.

Although Dyche's side are just three matches into the new season as the first international break arrives, they sit rock-bottom of the Premier League table with zero points and minus-eight in the goal difference column.

That's double the negative amount of 19th-placed Southampton above them, and although there are still 35 games to go, the victories need to start coming, and fast, to avoid a relegation battle.

The Blues' end-of-season form in 2023/24 – moving a mile clear of the bottom three despite two separate points deductions – will have given renewed hope to fans ahead of the new campaign.

However, after dismal performances in their first two league matches and now a collapse of otherworldly proportions against Bournemouth, any semblance of hope on Merseyside now looks light years away.

In other Everton news, victorious Bournemouth manager Andoni Iraola has shared what he said to Sean Dyche at full-time. 

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