David Moyes will be wondering why Everton were better with 10 men against Manchester United than they were in their shambolic 4-1 home defeat to Newcastle United tonight. The Toffees headed into the game following a remarkable victory at Old Trafford despite Idrissa Gueye's first-half sending off.
The hosts looked a completely different side against a ruthless Magpies team who raced into a three-nil lead at half-time. Malick Thiaw opened the scoring in just the first minute before Lewis Miley added a second in the 25th minute.
Nick Woltemade, who was previously linked with Everton, grabbed his side's third after Anthony Elanga made easy work of Tim Iroegbunam. He was one of two players who came out of the game with huge question marks over their place in Moyes' team.
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Moyes turned to Iroegbunam in the absence of Gueye, who was needlessly handed a red card in the 1-0 win over Manchester United on Monday. It was a chance for the young English midfielder to impress, but up against one of the Premier League's most highly regarded midfields, he faltered.
The 22-year-old misjudged the flight of the ball to allow Elanga to surge past him and find Woltemade for the third on the night. This was seemingly the final straw for Moyes, who brought him off at half-time for Carlos Alcaraz, who played in an unfamiliar deeper role.
Iroegbunam wasn't solely to blame for the calamitous first-half display, though, as Thierno Barry was ineffective, bullied by Thiaw, who eventually grabbed a brace, and Dan Burn. It's been a slow start to life on Merseyside for the French striker, who arrived from Villarreal in a £27 million deal.
The 23-year-old didn't win a single one of his three ground duels and was beaten in the air four out of nine times. It was the type of performance that raises questions about the club's recruitment, given that it was always going to be a risk to bring a young forward from a foreign league.
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Barry, whose work ethic can't be faulted, thought he'd scored his first goal in Blues colours when he produced his best moment to date since arriving at Hill Dickinson Stadium. But his celebrations at four-nil down were cut short when he was adjudged to have handled the ball in the build-up.
It took Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to conjure up a moment of brilliance to give Moyes' men a consolation goal. That speaks volumes about the lack of firepower in this toothless Toffees side.
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David Moyes
Moyes will have already been preparing for the winter period when Gueye heads off for Africa Cup of Nations duty with Senegal. But the Scot will rue missing the 36-year-old for another two games, with the veteran midfielder also suspended for games against Bournemouth (December 2) and Nottingham Forest (December 6).
Merlin Rohl will be absent for a few weeks after an operation on a hernia, which ruled him out of tonight's game. Moyes won't want to be using Alcaraz or Dewsbury-Hall in a makeshift deep midfield role, but Iroegbunam just hasn't been reliable.
If Moyes keeps faith with the former Aston Villa youngster, it could be extremely costly both for the team and put unnecessary pressure on his shoulders. The Friedkin Group have backed him, and they will want to see their business pay off.
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That might mean the coach instructs his scouts to find a proven goalscorer to ease the burden on Barry, who would benefit from learning from a more experienced head, but Beto isn't the answer. While the market isn't great in January, there are surely options out there, such as a surprise Richarlison reunion.