While everyone expected a tough game for Everton as they travelled to Reggio Emilia to face Atalanta in the Europa League, few expected the performance Ronald Koeman’s side put in.
With Gian Piero Gasperini’s men 3-0 up at half-time thanks to goals from Andrea Masiello, Papu Gomez and Bryan Cristante, the second half was all about damage limitation for the Toffees.
Koeman’s substitutions failed to produce a goal, and as the Dutchman said after the game, relayed by Corriere dello Sport: “They gave us a lesson in football.”
Gazzetta dello Sport even go a step further, perhaps theatrically, stating ‘Everton defeated, the Beatles silenced’.
This came down to preparation, according to the Atalanta manager, who said: “There was a lot of expectation on us, and we showed we could play with everyone.
“We had studied Everton, who didn’t come here off good results, but who remain a fearsome team. I was especially concerned about their physicality, so we focused on our technique.”
The big surprise in Italy, however, was how little impact Wayne Rooney, the English superstar, had on the game, and Corriere get rather personal, listing all the problems the former Manchester United forward went through over the past few weeks, ending with ‘let’s just say scoring a goal was probably the last thing on his mind’.
Stealing the show instead was Papu Gomez, whose curling effort for Atalanta’s second goal gets all the headlines, stepping up when his team needed him the most after their return to European football.
While, on paper, Everton might have had the better side, Ronald Koeman admitted his players on the pitch just didn’t click together.
He said, relayed by Corriere dello Sport: “My guys didn’t play as a team, but as eleven players around a pitch. That was the difference between us and them, who showed what it means to play football with passion.”
Basically, the Dutchman wants his team to come together.
Right now.
