Everton failed to build on their brilliant success over Nottingham Forest as they fell to a disappointing 2-0 loss to Manchester City on Saturday.
Their performance was praised by Sports Today, as they held out resolutely for majority of the game. However, a late collapse allowed City to take three points back to Manchester.
Nico O’Reilly broke the deadlock in the 84th minute by ghosting into the penalty box and firing home Matheus Nunes’ cross.
Mateo Kovacic added another in stoppage-time to seal a crucial victory that saw them climb to fourth in the Premier League.
The result means the Blues have not won against City since 2017 when they triumphed 4-0 over their opponents at Goodison. But despite the defeat, there are no relegation fears for David Moyes’ side as they are 17 points above the drop zone with just five games to spare.
Worst Everton player
Everton were excellent in defence but their attackers failed to impress with their performance.
Armando Broja was the worst of them all, as the on-loan striker had fewer touches than goalkeeper Jordan Pickford.
He lasted just over the hour mark as Moyes replaced him with Beto.
Broja had 22 touches and completed just four of his 10 passes (40% passing accuracy). He won only half of his aerial duels and lost the ball on 14 occasions.
The 23-year-old committed a foul but registered a tackle as well as an interception during his 63 minutes on the pitch.
On the back of this performance, Moyes may not start him again and the Scot would be absolutely justified to do so.
Broja joined Everton on a season-long loan from Chelsea in the summer, but the move has not worked out for him.
His time in Merseyside has been hampered by injury issues, with the Albania international making only four Premier League starts.
Given his form and fitness issues, Broja will likely return to Chelsea for the 2025-26 campaign.
Stats from Sofascore