Everton Crashes Out of Europa League After 3-0 Defeat to Lyon
Everton have crashed out of the Europa League thanks to a humbling 3-0 defeat in Lyon, condemning David Unsworth to his third defeat as manager of the Merseyside club.
The Toffees mathematically cannot proceed to the next round of the competition, and have continued to hold the record for the worst ever performance by an English side at this stage of the Europa League.
A very underwhelming first half began as one would expect, with Lyon dominating the ball and the visitors with ten men behind the ball - having gone into the game playing Gylfi Sigurdsson as a makeshift striker.
Lyon had trouble breaking down the defensive unit created by David Unsworth for the majority of the first half, but it came as no surprise that the home side had the first real chance of the game. A great cross from Manchester United flop Memphis Depay was glanced towards goal by former Chelsea man Bertrand Traore, only to see Jordan Pickford make a comfortable save.
Throughout the whole of the first half the Toffees struggles to get out of their own half, with Sigurdsson their only target up front. Along with this, their attacking moves broke down a fair bit - mostly down to the lack of creativity in the centre of the park. Experienced players like Morgan Schneiderlin and Idrissa Gueye seemed afraid to take chances, leaving them playing the majority of their passes sideways and backwards.
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One bright spark for the Merseyside team was central defensive midfielder Beni Baningime. The youngster was Everton's best player; strong and brave on the ball as he kept Lyon main man Fekir quiet throughout the half. It was very clear what Lyon tried to do during the first half, as they targeted the left-hand side of Everton; Rafael and Maxwel Cornet attacking Cuco Martina in an unfamiliar left-back role.
The end of the half came to an end in a terrible fashion for Everton defender Martina as he fell awkwardly after a challenge with Cornet, being stretchered off the pitch after seven long minutes of treatment.
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The second half began superbly for Everton as they came out of the traps quickly, earning a rare sight of the Lyon goal for the visitors when Gueye found himself free twelve yards from goal after good work from Aaron Lennon - but his poor shot was blocked by keeper Lopes.
Lyon dangerman Fekir was substituted early in the second half, a reflection of how good young Baningime was on the night, while Calvert-Lewin was brought on for Gueye a few moments earlier as manager Unsworth felt his side could nick a victory.
Unfortunately for the Toffees, a tackle from Schneiderlin inadvertently knocked the ball into the path of Ndombele; who squared the ball to Traore to stroke the ball in the back of the net to put the home side ahead.
A few minutes later the final nail was put in the coffin as a long ball culminated in a defensive scramble which ended with a very nice curled finish from Aouar, condemning Everton to the bottom of Group E. Everton's night then went from bad to worse as midfielder Morgan Schneiderlin was sent off with ten minutes to go after two bookable offences.
With three minutes to go Memphis Depay made it 3-0 to the home side with a great header to send Everton out of Europe. A first half full of hope ended in an embarrassing defeat for Everton, leaving the Toffees without a win in five games.
