Everton know who is to blame as European football hopes left in tatters by Sunderland
The Blues surrendered a half-time lead to lose 3-1 at Hill Dickinson Stadium
Enzo Le Fee scored Sunderland’s second(Image: Craig Galloway/ProSports/Shutterstock)
Everton proved to be their own worst enemy as they squandered any remaining realistic hope of qualifying for European competition next season with a meek second half surrender to lose 3-1 to Sunderland after leading at half-time.
Things looked promising for the Blues at half-time after Merlin Rohl and fired them ahead with a deflected effort off Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka just two minutes before the interval but in truth the scoreline masked that this was a poor contest by Premier League standards from both teams.
Possession was surrendered cheaply on several occasions and it was from one such loose pass by Jake O’Brien – who had struggled all day at right-back – that Everton gifted Sunderland their equaliser just before the hour mark.
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With further efforts from Enzo Lee Fee and Wilson Isidor sealing victory for Regis Le Bris’ side, David Moyes, the Premier League’s oldest and most experienced current manager will have been left scratching his head at how – after a three-week break following the 3-0 win over Chelsea in March, their most-emphatic display of the season – they have now finished the campaign with a whimper and without a win in their last six matches at the ‘business end’ when top teams move up through the gears.
The Blues appeared well-placed for a crack at Europe after blowing away the west London outfit but since resuming action, they have become increasingly vulnerable at the back and are now left playing for snookers ahead of their final day trip to Tottenham Hotspur when it comes to their hopes of getting into continental competition and given that FA Cup runners-up Chelsea host Spurs themselves before then on Tuesday, those aspirations might be mathematically extinguished by then anyway.
On the whole, this has been a year of progress in what has been an historic season for the club, but there is no sugar coating the disappointment over how things have fizzled out for the team.
