A mid-table clash at the South Coast of England saw the stage set for a certain Dutch manager to return to where he got his name established. Ronald Koeman returned to St.Mary’s with his blue Evertonians and a feisty encounter was certainly expected both tactically and execution-wise as well.
Puel’s men grabbed the upper hand right from the beginning of the tussle and Charlie Austin scored inside 3 minutes with Koeman left shaking his head. Everton had a really bad game and if not for Stekelenburg’s heroic saves the margin could have been much, much bigger.
The biggest chances of the night fell to probably Bolasie and Gana Gueye. Bolasie made a fantastic run through the middle and after beating Van Dijk in a one on one he skewed the shot wide while Gaya skied the ball high after Coleman put it on a plate for him. Everton failed to register a single effort on target on an embarrassing evening and Koeman’s return went awfully awry.
Here’s how the Blues have been rated.
Stekelenburg – 7.5/10
Was totally helpless when Southampton scored but he stood out with some commendable saves otherwise the margin would have been huge. Saved a fantastic header from Austin in the second half too! The only player who’s been consistent for the team.
Seamus Coleman – 4.5/10
His only notable contribution would be the ball he delivered to Gueye which was skied high. Otherwise, he wasn’t any better than the rest.
Phil Jagielka – 3/10
An absolutely shambolic night as a captain where he let several down. His clearance nearly off the line in the second half would have been the only decent contribution. Needs to step up big time.
Ashley Williams – 4.5/10
Had a torrid time against Josh Sims and should have done much better than expected. A defensive malfunction as usual.
Leighton Baines – 4/10
Nothing to take note off and contributed nothing at all. Poor performance from such an experienced player.
