Everton captain Seamus Coleman says he and his team-mates have to “look at ourselves in the mirror” after they capitulated in remarkable fashion to lose 3-2 to Bournemouth.
Goals from Michael Keane and Dominic Calvert-Lewin gave the Blues a 2-0 advantage heading into the 87th minute.
However, Antoine Semenyo’s goal prompted a defensive collapse from the hosts, with Lewis Cook and Luis Sinisterra scoring further goals for the visitors in stoppage time at a stunned Goodison Park.
“We really let ourselves down in front of our fans,” said Coleman.
“We cannot take our foot off the gas at this level. Unfortunately we did that. We cannot be conceding the goals that we did. We have to look at ourselves in the mirror.”
With Calvert-Lewin and summer signing Iliman Ndiaye impressing, Everton had completely dominated proceedings and spurned numerous chances to be well out of sight before the extraordinary finale.
And while there were joyous scenes among the visiting players and fans, it proved another painful afternoon for the Everton supporters, who have now seen their side concede 10 goals this term and lose their first three top-flight fixtures for the second consecutive season.
“We did so much right until they scored their first goal,” Everton manager Sean Dyche told BBC Match of the Day.
“The game should have been out of sight. We conceded one and then threw it away. I can’t put my finger on it right now. Everyone was looking at someone else to deal with things and that is when there is trouble. You could see the body language change.”
‘I could smell it in the air’
Dyche helped preserve Everton’s Premier League status during the 2022-23 season and guided them to a 15th-placed finish last term in his first full season in charge despite the club being deducted eight points overall for breaching profit and sustainability rules.
He has also had to work with an extremely limited budget and has on occasions appeared exasperated, like on Saturday, which he called the most “frustrating” defeat in his 13 years as a manager.
“I’ve had a few (defeats) down my years as a player, coach, manager, but this is the most frustrating because to dominate a game for so long and come out of it without something at least is incredibly frustrating,” added Dyche.
“We didn’t see the game through, simple as that. It was from not doing the hard yards, win your tackles and your races.
“After the first goal I could smell it in the air. Not necessarily not winning but I could smell it, ‘This ain’t right’, and I’m screaming at them to get their shape and do the ugly side of the game, and we didn’t and they get a win out of nowhere.”
Having restricted Bournemouth to just one shot on target in the first 86 minutes, by full-time, that figure had risen to seven with Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford forced into a making a couple of superb saves.
Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live, former Liverpool and England midfielder Danny Murphy said: “They were absolutely all over the place [Everton]. The gaps were huge. It was crazy what they were doing.
“There’s a lot involved in that [performance], you lose belief and start doubting what you’re doing and each other but it’s also a lack of leadership and they’ve got experienced players on the pitch.”
Former Brighton forward Glenn Murray added: “Everton will be disappointed. There is a fragility around Goodison Park.”