Atalanta 3 Everton 0: Toffees uninspiring in dismal Europa League defeat

WHAT do you get for £130m these days? Not a lot if Everton are anything to go by.

Gylfi SigurdssonGETTY

Gylfi Sigurdsson sits down during Everton's defeat to Atalanta

Or to be more accurate, an ill-balanced, hotch-potch of a team with the whole, a pathetic fraction of the sum of its parts.

Ronald Koeman’s expensively-assembled side were a shambles last night as Atlanta celebrated their return to European football after 26 years with a win far easier than they could have ever dreamt about.

Group E whipping boys Apollon Limassol will give them a tougher game than this!

In three previous competitive games in Italy, Everton hadn’t so much as scored a goal, losing on each occasion but this was their most embarrassing defeat.

Ronald Koeman had demanded a reaction to successive league defeats against Chelsea and Tottenham and he got one alright.

The kind of reaction every manager dreads with his players looking confidence-shot,  out of ideas and vulnerable at the back.

Bryan Cristante scores for Atalanta against Everton

A reunion with Romelu Lukaku at Old Trafford on Sunday is the last thing Everton need right now, judging by the way they dealt with Atlanta’s attacking forays.

So bad were Everton on the night, some fed-up fans left at half-time, For them this really was the Italian sob.

Inside 20 minutes, Gylfi Sigurdsson stung the hands of Etrit Berisha and Wayne Rooney’s chip was just too high but that was effectively the visitors’ lot.

Atlanta then took over and ran Everton ragged.

They opened the scoring when Andrea Masielio was left unmarked at the far post to tap home Alejandro Gomez’ corner in the 27th minute having been brilliantly denied by Maarten Stekelenburg moments earlier.

The marauding Masieio was again thwarted by the Everton keeper but Stekelenburg could do nothing when Gomez let fly from 22 yards after sidestepping Nikola Vlasic as if he wasn’t there, to double the lead.

Mason Holgate Alejandro GomezGETTY

Atalanta ace Alejandro Gomez jinks away from Everton defender Mason Holgate

That was in the 41st minute and moments before half time it was 3-0 with Bryan Cristante taking Andreaq Petagna’s pass in his stride to beat Stekelenburg with a right foot finish.

Rooney forced Berisha into a routine save at his near post 30 seconds after the restart but it was Atlanta who came closest to extending their advantage.

The excellent Gomez should have done better than fire over the bar when left unmarked and Remo Freuler skimmed the bar with a 20 yard drive.

It was so easy for the Italians they slowed the game right down in the closing stages and still looked quicker, better and more incisive than Everton.

Koeman has an awful lot of work to do on this evidence.

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