Everton felt the effects of a manager bounce in the Premier League this afternoon. Sadly, it was Manchester United who enjoyed the fruits of a new head coach, blowing the Toffees away 4-0 at Old Trafford.
The ice is rapidly thinning beneath Sean Dyche's feet, with honking defensive errors and a total disjointedness sending the visitors tail-spinning back to Merseyside.
Everton manager Sean Dyche
December has arrived, and so too has a forbidding run of fixtures that could prove too much for Dyche's slipping grip on the manager's seat.
There's little to be positive about, candidly, albeit with some promising attacking efforts on show in the first half. At the back, however - misery.
Everton's defenders toil
The Theatre of Dreams served up a nightmare for Everton, whose absence of confidence and cohesion was evident through the battering handed out by United's regenerated frontline.
Everton centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite
Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski formed one of the steeliest defensive axes in the English top flight last term, but such solidity has melted away since the summer, and shortcomings were brutally highlighted against a United attack that demonstrated a hitherto unseen clinical edge.
Neither centre-back did themselves justice, shipping four and both at fault for goals. Branthwaite looked like a titanic star worthy of the £75m price tag that dissuaded Man United from signing him in the summer, but he was pickpocketed by Amad Diallo to make it 2-0.
Branthwaite & Tarkowski vs Man United
Match Stats
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Stats via Sofascore
Tarkowski, conversely, struggled throughout. The screech of the final whistle proved to be a blessing for the 33-year-old, making two errors and being lambasted for his "embarrassing" efforts by journalist Dave Downie.
Everton defenders look dejected
Both centre-halves flattered to deceive, but neither was actually the poorest defender of the afternoon - after all, contrary to plausibility, they won ten out of 12 contested duels between them.
The weakest link would be Vitalii Mykolenko.
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Vitalii Mykolenko might have cost Dyche his job
Mykolenko has started 11 Premier League matches this season, but he's struggling to lay down his marker for the left-back berth in the coming years.
Rashford-Mykolenko
If Dyche's days are indeed numbered, the Ukrainian's might be too.
Voting him as the worst performer of the day, The Liverpool ECHO branded Mykolenko with a dismal 3/10 match rating, with correspondent Chris Beesley brutally claiming that he was 'hopelessly out of position on far too many occasions,' also criticising his 'personal nightmare on a day of collective woes.'
Wandering into lands uncharted and leaving acres of space for orchestrator Bruno Fernandes to exploit, it was a terrible showing from the full-back, whose inability to stand firm in the duel - losing four of five battles, as per Sofascore - exacerbated his struggles and then some.
It's pouring for the Toffees alright. With such a tough run of fixtures up ahead, Everton might find their manager hoisted from his seat in short time, with the horror shows of players such as Mykolenko rendering his tactical ideas negligible, and closing the door, perhaps, on a bleak era.
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Sean Dyche's position at Everton looks more tenuous by the matchweek.