Everton suffered their heaviest ever Premier League defeat to Chelsea and their worst defeat at Stamford Bridge since they were also beaten 6-0 in 1948 and the national media were understandably scathing about the visitors’ display as they were torn to shreds.
In the mirrora tongue-in-cheek Mike Walters went so far as to suggest Everton’s ‘spineless’ performance was enough to earn them another points deduction.
He wrote: “On this evidence you have to fear for Sean Dyche’s side when the music stops and the Premier League finishes picking up points. They deserved to be booed. They were a disgrace.
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“Everton have already been scored eight points in two hearings by Premier League accountants and have formally appealed the latest two-point penalty. It is absurd that, with only a month of the season remaining, the relegation battle has more asterisks than a nightmare in Gordon Ramsay’s kitchen.
“But the biggest reason Everton are fighting for their lives for the third season in a row is because they are not very good. One league win in four months tells its own painful story, and the Toffees’ clash is devastating. This really could be the season where they fall after tapping the hatch one too many times.
“From the moment Palmer first put on his top hat after thirteen minutes, they had come to nothing. Palmer nutmegged Jarrad Branthwaite, exchanged passes with Nicolas Jackson and swept a delightful, curling effort past Jordan Pickford.
“Within five minutes, Everton’s evening was beyond repair as Pickford parried Jackson’s effort from close range and Palmer nodded in his second from just a few yards. And when England keeper Pickford’s brainstorm – a careless, sloppy clearance without any pressure – gave Palmer his hat-trick chance, he did it with a pitching-wedge finish, right-footed, from almost 40 yards.
“Game over, and Everton knew it.”
In the Daily TelegraphMatt Law noted that on the day Everton confirmed they had lodged their second points deduction appeal of the campaign, they may even have to rely on off-field feuding to maintain their Premier League status. He said: “With little breathing space between themselves and the relegation zone, Everton must hope their appeal against a second points deduction of the season proves successful. On this evidence, they cannot be trusted to get themselves out of trouble on the field.
“With just over 70 minutes to go, it seemed a certainty that Palmer would complete his hat-trick and he did so just before the 30 minute mark – thanks in part to a terrible mistake from Pickford. Palmer certainly doesn’t need any favors to get on the scoresheet at the moment, but he did get one when Pickford passed the ball into his path as he tried to find Amadou Onana.
“Pickford immediately ran back towards his own goal but Palmer lobbed a beautiful right-foot shot from around 35 yards over the goalkeeper and into the net. It was an incredible way to complete a hat-trick and Everton and manager Sean Dyche were completely stunned after the visitors made a good start.”
Jacob Steinburg of the Guardian picked up the disturbing observation that it was Cole Palmer’s Chelsea teammates, rather than anyone at Everton, who were most determined to thwart him. He said: “On a night when Jordan Pickford’s distribution deteriorated and Jarrad Branthwaite compounded Sean Dyche’s gloom by going off injured, nothing summed up the scale of Everton’s collapse better than the fact that the players who tried hardest to stop Cole Palmer from scoring, clothes wore blue.
“That’s the nature of life at Stamford Bridge for Mauricio Pochettino, whose side are three points clear of sixth place after their most emphatic win in the Premier League this season. Some teams can get through a 6-0 drubbing, but not Chelsea. They are sometimes brilliant, always enigmatic and yet, despite fleeting signs of progress, prone to moments of inexplicable immaturity.
“Palmer is obviously not bothered by the chaos. He destroyed Everton with his second hat-trick in consecutive home games, making 20 goals and nine assists since his move from Manchester City last summer, and he didn’t even flinch when the sulky duo of Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke tried to get the ball . a penalty in the second half from him.
“This was one to forget for Pickford, who had already gifted Palmer his hat-trick goal with a wayward pass. Everton were, as James Tarkowski later acknowledged, an embarrassment. Instead of showing the fight you would expect from a team two points above the bottom three, they have disgraced themselves after falling behind and, judging by the nature of their ridiculous defensive and foot strike, not basing their hopes of survival on winning their appeal. against their latest points deduction for violating profitability and sustainability rules.
“It is true that Everton experiences a sense of injustice. Chelsea’s pre-match bulletins highlighted a growing list of injuries and revelations in their year-end accounts of a £90.1m loss mitigated by the sale of two hotels from one club-affiliated entity to another. Others can only be amazed at the financial creativity. But Everton have made mistakes in the boardroom and are a mess on the pitch.”
Meanwhile in the ECHO, Joe Thomas emphasized that Everton’s players had no complaints about their barracks from the away section at Stamford Bridge. He stated: “Everton deserved every boo they got after the worst half of Sean Dyche’s reign.
“They wouldn’t have been able to complain if they had received the same treatment full-time. The only reason they didn’t was because the end was pretty much empty.
“And who can blame the thousands who spent hundreds in a cost-of-living crisis, in the mistaken belief that they would be rewarded with struggle and desire, if not quality? Their team gave them no reason to stay.
“For two years, those supporters have dragged a club through its problems. It was against Chelsea that they so incredibly rallied for the first Goodison coaching welcome that sparked the flight to safety under Frank Lampard.
“If they want to do the same for a third campaign, they need to get some inspiration. Instead, the only applause from the traveling supporters on Monday night came from a handful of fans who recognized Cole Palmer as he left the field after scoring four goals. He could have had six. His team eventually did that.”