Everton’s defeat to Bournemouth is officially the worst collapse in Premier League history.
The Toffees’ start to the season went from bad to disastrous on Saturday afternoon as their players were subjected to more boos from their fans – but what do they expect when things are going this badly?
After being hurled with abuse from fuming supporters following back-to-back defeats to begin the new campaign, Sean Dyche’s men seemed to respond against the Cherries.
Two quick-fire goals from Michael Keane and Dominic Calvert-Lewin had the Merseysiders 2-0 up after 57 minutes, with Bournemouth looking down and out and the hosts cruising towards a first win of the season.
But that’s when it all went wrong – horribly, horribly wrong.
Everton were leading 2-0 with just three minutes left of regular time. They ended up losing the match 3-2.
The hosts went to sleep at the back and the Cherries said, ‘Thank you very much’, as goals from Antoine Semenyo (87’), Lewis Cook (90+2’) and Luis Sinisterra (90+6’) turned a dream afternoon into a hellish nightmare for the hosts.
And it also wrote this Everton team in the English football history books – according to Opta data, it’s the latest a team has ever been two-plus goals ahead in a match and have gone on to lose in the Premier League, ever.
The game was live on on talkSPORT 2, and the reaction from commentary team Ian Danter and former Arsenal winger Perry Groves really says it all.
And as they described the scenes unravelling before their eyes, you could hear desperate cries from the incensed Everton faithful, who had clearly seen enough.
“It’s stunned silence here – these Everton fans can’t believe what they’re seeing, I can’t believe what I’m seeing,” Groves said after Bournemouth’s equalising goal.
“There are ten zombies now in Everton shirts. They are completely stunned. Sean Dyche is gesturing in his technical box, pointing to his head, but it’s too late for that.
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“These ten outfield players all look like punch-drunk heavyweight boxers where they’ve been jabbed and jabbed, they’re just waiting for the knock-out punch.”
They didn’t have to wait long – it came just four minutes later.
“Football is absolutely crazy – it is mad,” said Groves after Bournemouth’s third.
“This is daylight robbery. The Bournemouth players have got their Dick Turpin masks on.
“How Bournemouth have won this game I’ll never, ever know. They were dead and buried after 80 minutes, they weren’t in the game, but the Everton players have completely lost their heads.
“Absolutely shocking. This has got to be one of the greatest turnarounds in Premier League history.
“And the silence is deafening. Everton fans were really up, they were seeing a good performance from their team, they were applauding their substituted players off the pitch, but then they completely switched off defensively. You see their shoulders just hunch, and it was all over from then.
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“You think you’ve seen it all in football, and then you watch this game. Crazy. Mind-blowing.”
Danter added: “Everton really have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. There’s a mass exodus around us at Goodison Park. What a game of football.
“The full-time whistle goes and the boos from the few remaining Everton spectators tell you how they feel. They were in seventh heaven when goals from Keane and Calvert-Lewin put them firmly in control – and that was the score for so long in the second-half.
“But Bournemouth, who have won just two of their last ten Premier League away games found a way to score three goals around the added-time to seal an extraordinary victory here at Goodison Park.
“Everton have lost back-to-back home games, but you never would have believed that was possible with five minutes of normal time to go!
“It’s a despondent disbelief here from the home fans, and it’s a different kind of disbelief from Bournemouth fans – they don’t know how they’ve won!”
Bournemouth’s certainly enjoyed themselves at the full-time whistle, posting, ‘Banter’, alongside the scoreline on social media.
But Everton fans will be left outraged their historic club have been reduced to being the Premier League’s punchline.
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