'Increasingly, worryingly, small' - National media expose Everton flaw in brutal Bournemouth verdict
Everton’s woes continued into the New Year as they started 2025 with a 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium which leaves them with a meagre 17-point tally halfway into their Premier League season. Here’s how the national media reported on the Blues’ defeat in Dorset.
Sluggish Everton's performances fail to emulate changing times
Everton were lacklustre in attack once again, too-often relying on goalkeeper Jordan Pickford – who had another terrific performance bettered only by Brooks' unstoppable strike – to get them out of a tight spot.
It is supposed to be an exciting period for the Toffees with their new owners finally through the door and a move to a flashy new stadium on the horizon. But their performances on the pitch is failing to emulate these changing times.
They are playing a sluggish brand of football – failing to register a single shot against Bournemouth – and the gap that separates them from the drop zone is growing increasingly, worryingly, small.
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Bournemouth had prepared for the Toffees' stubborn low block and attempted to stretch the pitch as wide as they could through the overlapping play of their formidable wide partnerships.
The home side were finally able to overcome the England No 1 and break the deadlock through substitute Brooks late in the second half.
A script Dyche has repeated too many times
Bournemouth are continuing to blaze a trail, even in the depths of midwinter. A club record eighth consecutive Premier League match unbeaten also added three more points to their unprecedented tally to this point and all delivered by David Brooks, the cultured forward who retains the heartfelt affection of the Bournemouth support and scored a banger after coming on as substitute
Everton largely held Bournemouth at arm’s length and grew into the contest in the second half. But such was the lack of attacking force from the visitors, that Bournemouth were able to push further on as the game progressed without taking much more in the way of risk.
“What has been a challenge since I’ve been at the club is finding that last moment, people passing when they could shoot and that sort of thing. The final cross, the final finish and we don’t find that so it’s very frustrating.”
This is a script Sean Dyche has repeated too many times for many frustrated Everton fans and there was a sense of exasperation from the manager as he restated the circumstances he finds himself in.
SAME OLD STORY: Chris Beesley's video verdict
Everton's inability to trouble Bournemouth was made to look almost comical
Robert O’Connor, Daily Telegraph
Sean Dyche’s team look increasingly like being drawn into a relegation fight as they failed to produce a shot on target in 90 minutes, as their poor run extended to one goal scored in their last five Premier League games.
Their inability to trouble their hosts was made to look almost comical by the ease with which Bournemouth cut through them again and again, and another assured display made it five wins in eight for Andoni Iraola’s side.
The winning goal 13 minutes from time encapsulated everything Everton were not. Milos Kerkez sent a finely-calibrated cross into the box where it arrived at the perfect height for David Brooks to skip into the air and, with the kind of confidence that his team’s brilliant season so far imbues, volleyed beyond Jordan Pickford into the far corner.
Goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga started on the bench having spent time at home in Spain after his partner had given birth to twins. Mark Travers deputised but Iraola need not have lost sleep over his selection in goal such was the absence of anything like a threat from Everton.
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Bournemouth is the place where Everton’s dreams come to die so it was only fitting a new year that holds so much promise for the club should start with defeat on the south coast.
Few places fill Blues supporters with as much dread as the Vitality Stadium and this was a case of new era, same old story. The scoreline may suggest this was a narrow defeat but it was anything but. Everton conceded once, David Brooks’ late cushioned back post volley the difference between the two sides, but they were indebted to Jordan Pickford and his defence for still being in this game by the latter stages.
For yet another match they offered nothing going forward. There was no anxiety in the home ranks as Bournemouth sought to close this game out. An Everton side that took 81 minutes to register a shot on target in the last game of 2024 failed to force Mark Travers into a single save during the first of 2025.
Instead, Pickford made seven including impressive and important stops from Dango Ouattara, Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo. Everton boast a solid defensive record and have improved as Jarrad Branthwaite and James Tarkowski have grown into a partnership assembled late into this campaign because of injury. Both were very good again on Saturday. But even then, as with so many games across recent months, they have required lifesaving interventions from Pickford behind them.
It is hard to know where Sean Dyche goes from here in terms of bolstering a forward line that is not even miss-firing. This is one that is failing to start and watching it attempt to do so is painful.
