FROM BEST TO WORST: THE SHOCKING COLLAPSE OF EVERTON'S MIDFIELD
Days after beating Man Utd, Everton suffered a 4-1 thrashing by Newcastle, fueled by Pickford's errors and the season's fastest goal. The team must recover quickly for the Tuesday match vs Bournemouth.
The post-mortem for Everton's disastrous game against Newcastle United began well before the final whistle at Hill Dickinson Stadium. Just days after what seemed like their best showing of the season against Manchester United, Everton crashed back down to earth, getting hammered by Newcastle.
Newcastle cruised to their first away win since April, thrashing Everton 4-1. Malick Thiaw scored a lightning-fast goal within 55 seconds. Eddie Howe's team dominated from there. Even though Everton tried to fight back, they were already down 3-0 by halftime, leaving many feeling the game was over.
Knowing their team barely scores three goals in a game, some fans left at halftime. James Tarkowski and Jordan Pickford were already dissecting the mess after Nick Woltemade scored Newcastle's third goal just before the break.
Pickford's mistake gifted Newcastle their second goal, letting Lewis Miley's shot slip right through him.
Then, Pickford was helpless as Thiaw headed in his second goal later in the game.
Even Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall's goal—arguably the best of the match—offered little comfort, especially considering Thierno Barry's continued bad luck.
I think we were flat from the start, Everton defender Jake O’Brien admitted. We gave them chances we usually wouldn't.
They scored, and it was an uphill battle from there. We gave them a chance right away, and we were lucky Jordan saved it. But then they scored, giving them momentum.
O'Brien continued with his frank assessment: at times, we held the ball well but left ourselves too exposed.
They took advantage of our sloppy mistakes. Usually, we'd defend those, but that's football.
We were happy on Monday, but today is different. It's important to move past this and go into Tuesday with a positive attitude, aiming for three points.
Next, David Moyes and his team travel to the South Coast to face Bournemouth on Tuesday night. The Vitality Stadium hasn't been kind to Everton in recent years.
Bournemouth is returning home after a 3-2 loss to Sunderland on Saturday. Still, Andoni Iraola's team is unbeaten in all six of their Premier League home games this season.
It's good that the game is on Tuesday. "We need to put Newcastle behind us and get going again because we have a lot of games coming up," O'Brien said.
There are a lot of points to grab, so we need to go into it with a fresh mindset and try to get something out of it.
DANIEL STURRIDGE: VAR BROKE 'GOLDEN RULE' ON CAICEDO'S RED CARD
Daniel Sturridge claims VAR broke protocol by using slow-motion for Caicedo's red card.
Daniel Sturridge thinks a key VAR rule might have been broken when Moises Caicedo of Chelsea got a red card against Arsenal on Sunday. Caicedo was sent off for a late challenge on Mikel Merino. The ref, Anthony Taylor, first gave a yellow card, but VAR stepped in.
Sturridge, who used to play for Chelsea and Liverpool, kind of criticised how the technology was used, even though he agreed with the final call.
He told Sky Sports, When you watch it in slow motion, it looks bad. The ref first decided on a yellow card. Then they used VAR to look at it again. Watching it slowed down, it looks like a red card. But at full speed, it doesn't seem so bad. Slowing it down makes the ref think it's a red. When you watch the replay in slow motion, it decides for them.
Alan Smith, who was commentating with Sky Sports, said earlier, They're taking a good long look. He came in fast and hard. This could be a turning point in the game. They need to show it at full speed.
He missed the ball, but he came in hard, and they usually worry about a straight leg. He'll be lucky to stay on the field.
The Premier League shared their opinion soon after Caicedo was kicked out. Taylor also explained why he changed the card.
The Premier League Match Centre posted on X: #CHEARS – 34' VAR OVERTURN. After VAR review, the referee overturned the original decision of a yellow card to Caicedo and issued a red card for serious foul play.
Referee announcement: After review, Chelsea 25 makes a challenge with excessive force and endangers the safety of the opponent; therefore, my final decision is a red card.
Even with only ten players, Chelsea scored first. Trevoh Chalobah headed in a corner from Reece James.
But Mikel Merino quickly tied the score, heading in a cross from Bukayo Saka.
After Caicedo's red card, Chelsea seemed to focus on defending. Piero Hincapie was probably lucky not to get a red card himself after hitting Chalobah with an elbow.
Later, Hincapie fouled Joao Pedro, leading to more appeals, but Taylor didn't give another red card.
However, there were many yellow cards. Myles Lewis Skelly got a booking soon after replacing Riccardo Calafiori, who had already received a yellow card.
LUCAS PAQUETA BLASTS FA: STRESS FROM INVESTIGATION CAUSED RED CARD
West Ham's Lucas Paqueta publicly criticises the FA, claiming his red card vs. Liverpool was due to stress from their long investigation and lack of mental support.
West Ham's Lucas Paqueta is not happy with the FA after getting sent off recently. He feels his actions on the field were a result of the stress from the FA's long investigation into his behaviour.
The Brazilian midfielder was kicked out of the game during West Ham's 2-0 loss to Liverpool after getting two quick yellow cards for arguing.
After facing criticism, Paqueta went to social media to connect his actions to the lack of support he got during his almost two-year legal issue.
Paqueta reacted to a post online with a strong statement on X, where he blamed the FA for not providing mental health support after the betting investigation.
He posted:
It's not right that my life and career have been affected for two years without any help from the federation. Maybe my behaviour is just a result of what I've been going through and what it seems I'll keep going through! I'm sorry if I'm not perfect.
Paqueta had already said sorry to West Ham fans and teammates, admitting his actions didn't justify the dismissal. He also emphasised the huge impact the situation has had on his mental health.
Paqueta's reaction comes from the FA's investigation into alleged betting rule violations, which started in August 2023.
The situation put his career on hold, leading to a failed £70 million transfer to Manchester City.
Though the Regulatory Commission didn't find the spot-fixing charges proven earlier in the year, the midfielder was penalised for not giving all the needed info for the investigation.
This, while clearing him of the main accusations, hasn't reduced the stress from the drawn-out process.
The Liverpool game was another setback for Paqueta, who had just returned from a one-match suspension after getting five yellow cards.
Because of the red card, he'll now miss the game against Manchester United, which is another tough one for West Ham.