Former Premier League midfielder Danny Murphy says Everton “completely lost themselves” in Saturday’s late collapse against Bournemouth.
The Toffees looked set to secure their first three points of the season with goals from Michael Keane and Dominic Calvert-Lewin putting them 2-0 up but conceded three times in nine chaotic minutes to remain bottom after three games.
“There’s a lot involved in that,” Murphy told Sports Report on 5 Live. “You lose belief and start doubting what you’re doing and doubting each other – but it’s also a lack of leadership.
“It’s a shock to me because they’ve got experienced players on the pitch: Michael Keane, James Tarkowski, Seamus Coleman. You have to get close to each other, be organised, narrow up and be hard to beat. They’ve done that – they showed that last season when they got out of trouble.
“Against Bournemouth they were in disarray and completely lost themselves. It’s a really harsh lesson for them because for the majority of the game they did some really good things.
“Very rarely do Everton have the comfort of a two goal lead with five minutes to go – it’s just trying to learn from it.”
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