Frustration!
It etched Frank Lampard’s face. The supporters started suffering from it after the first 10 minutes of Everton’s 2-1 home defeat to Manchester United. And the entire squad must have been as well.
Everton came into the match favoured to continue Manchester United’s misery. And with Alex Iwobi’s sumptuous early goal (5 minutes,) it looked misery was going to take the M62 to Manchester. However, two errors by Idressa Gueye (second straight game) and Alex Iwobi put United in front before the half ended and that’s how It finished.
Frustrating, especially since Cristiano Ronaldo took advantage of Iwobi’s flub and then scored his 700th league goal on a shot that on most days Jordan Pickford would have saved.
During his post-match press conference, Lampard said he was frustrated by the turnovers which resulted in two goals. It was the third time this season Everton have lead only to lose points.
Given the mess, he inherited after taking over for Rafa Benitez in February, Lampard is making progress. Despite injuries to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Ben Godfrey and Mason Holgate, Everton had been unbeaten for six league matches and had won two in a row. It could have been four, if not for that pesky VAR.
Injuries are always frustrating, but it’s part of football. But, it seems like the Blues have more than the average. The latest to miss time is right-back Nathan Patterson, who was injured playing for Scotland.
Benitez was the seventh manager in six years under new owner Farhad Moshiri and perhaps that bad decision resulted in Moshiri backing away from getting involved in transfers and telling Chairman Bill “I’m a massive Blue” Kenwright that the nearly three trophy less decades might have something to do with the club chairman.
Moshiri’s misspending was one of the major reasons why fan favourite Richarlison went to Spurs for £60 million. His pace and directness have been missed.
So it’s off to London for the Blues as they will visit Tottenham Hotspur and Richarlison on Saturday.
It’s another televised match and Lampard will want Everton to be at their best in his old stomping grounds. With Anthony Gordon facing a one game ban for five yellow cards, look for Dwight McNeil, James Garner and possibly DCL to start.