Tag: Everton

Chelsea won 6-0 and still embarrassed itself

Chelsea showed how it has fallen so far even while securing its largest win of the season

It’s been another tough season for Chelsea, but Monday’s 6-0 win over Everton was a cathartic moment of celebration for the former Premier League powerhouse.

Well, at least it should have been.

While Cole Palmer stole the headlines with a four-goal display, his final goal was also a major talking point — and not in a good way for Chelsea.

Already up 4-0, Chelsea won a second-half penalty kick. Palmer, the team’s usual penalty taker, went to grab the ball but was engulfed in an intra-team squabble involving Nicolas Jackson and Noni Madueke.

Madueke grabbed the ball initially before it was forcefully removed by captain Conor Gallagher and given to Palmer. For some reason, Jackson decided to use that moment to try and snag the ball himself before he was shoved away by Palmer.

Not a great look!

Palmer would convert to make it 5-0, with Madueke forcing Jackson to go over and celebrate with the team following the goal.

With the made penalty, Palmer moved to a perfect nine-for-nine from the spot this season.

Naturally, head coach Mauricio Pochettino was furious after the game.

“The players and staff know that Cole Palmer is the penalty taker,” Pochettino said. “I am so, so upset about the situation. Discipline is the most important thing in our team.

“We all agree they [Jackson and Madueke] were wrong. They are not experienced players. They are young. It was very good the reaction by Conor Gallagher [to defuse things].”

“We can’t show that type of behavior,” he continued. “It’s like we are in a school, and our job is to show them they were wrong so they can learn. There will be no punishment, but this can’t happen again. If Palmer is on the pitch, he is the penalty taker.”

Even with the win, Chelsea only moved up to ninth place in the Premier League table. Once a formidable European force, Chelsea managed to demonstrate how it has fallen so far even while securing its largest win of the season.

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Tyler Adams shines in first full 90-minute appearance in over a year

Adams came through unscathed, and was one of the best players on the pitch as the Cherries claimed a win

Sometimes in life, it’s the simple things that are truly worth savoring.

Take for example Tyler Adams, who played a full 90 minutes for Bournemouth in a 2-1 win over Everton on Saturday.

The U.S. men’s national team midfielder getting through one entire game of soccer without issue — or even playing well, as Adams did — is normally not a story.

However, for Adams it was the latest step in an encouraging return from an injury nightmare. The 25-year-old had not come through a 90-minute stint in over a year, with his last such full shift coming all the way back on March 11, 2023 with Leeds.

Adams suffered a hamstring injury in training the following week, eventually undergoing surgery on the problem. Adams would change clubs in the summer, moving from Leeds to Bournemouth, but a September debut off the bench for the Cherries effectively set him back to square one after a recurrence of the same issue.

The USMNT star made his second return on March 13, coming off the bench in a 4-3 Bournemouth win over Luton Town, and Gregg Berhalter took the gamble of calling Adams up for the Concacaf Nations League finals.

While Berhalter drew criticism for that choice from Adams’ former coach Jesse Marsch, it’s safe to say things worked out. The headline item is a spectacular goal against Mexico, but the USMNT stint also served to accelerate Adams’ return to full match fitness in a way that training with Bournemouth wouldn’t have allowed.

That set the stage for a classic Adams showing at the Vitality Stadium, in which the New York native was all over the pitch.

Data from Sofascore bolsters the case that Adams wasn’t just back on the field, but truly looked like his old self. He won seven of eight ground duels on the day, and his four interceptions led all players from both teams.

Adams also posted four successful tackles (joint-best, alongside Everton’s Ben Godfrey), and attempted more passes (46) than any other Bournemouth player.

In other words, Adams isn’t just back. He’s back.

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Nebraska’s Eleanor Dale signs with Everton Women FC

A former Husker is now a part of a professional football club in her home country.

A former Husker is now a part of a professional football club in her home country. Everton Women FC, a club in Liverpool, England, announced that former Nebraska soccer player Eleanor Dale signed with the team.

Everton is a part of the Women’s Super League, the top division of English women’s football. Dale, a native of Billingham, England, joins the Blues following a historic season to conclude her collegiate career at Nebraska. Dale led the nation in goals with 28 on the season and ranked third in Big Ten history in single-season goals.

She also helped the Huskers reach their third Elite Eight appearance in program history. With her total goals, she also broke the school record for goals in a season, which was held by Kim Engesser, who set the record with 27 goals in 1998.

Dale broke the record in Nebraska’s 4-0 victory against UC-Irvine in the Sweet Sixteen to end her career with 44 goals, the sixth-best in school history.

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Which Premier League teams are owned by Americans?

Half of the Premier League’s 20 teams are now under majority American ownership. 

With the news of Everton’s takeover by U.S. private equity firm 777 Partners, the influence of American owners in the Premier League has never been higher.

When that deal goes through, it will mean that exactly half of the Premier League’s 20 teams are under American ownership. That includes four of the league’s biggest teams: Arsenal, Chelsea, Manchester United and Liverpool.

The English top flight has become an attractive investment for prospective owners as the league’s revenue from broadcast deals continues to skyrocket.

Here, we have listed all 10 Premier League clubs currently under American ownership. Some of the clubs include multiple owners/investors, so the American owners are italicized in those cases.

Dele Alli opens up on childhood sexual abuse and entering rehab

The 27-year-old gave an extremely brave and revealing interview

Dele Alli has bravely opened up on experiencing childhood sexual abuse, saying he recently got out of rehab to deal with addiction and trauma.

The Everton midfielder conducted a interview with Gary Neville on The Overlap, which was released on Thursday.

Alli spoke to Neville about a number of topics, including an addition to sleeping pills, a troublesome relationship with alcohol, and the trauma he experienced as a child.

“I was waking up every day, and I was winning the fight, going into training, smiling, showing that I was happy. But inside, I was definitely losing the battle and it was time for me to change it,” Alli said.

Alli marked himself as one of England’s most talented young players at Tottenham after joining from MK Dons in 2015. The midfielder became a regular for England as well, helping the Three Lions to the 2018 World Cup semifinal.

But Alli has undergone a major drop in form in recent years. He moved to Everton in January 2022 but struggled to make an impact before going on loan to Turkish side Besiktas last season.

After returning injured from Besiktas, Alli said he made the decision to enter rehab.

“When I came back from Turkey, I found out I needed an operation and I was in a bad place mentally,” he said. “I decided to go to a modern-day rehab facility for mental health. They deal with addiction, mental health and trauma.

“I felt like it was time for me. You can’t be told to go there. You have to know and make the decision yourself or it’s not going to work. I was caught in a bad cycle. I was relying on things that were doing me harm.”

Alli said that he turned to alcohol and sleeping pills to help him deal with the pain of trauma he suffered as a child.

“It’s been going on for a long time without me realizing it,” said Alli. “Things I was doing to numb the feelings I had: I didn’t realize I was doing it for that purpose, whether it be drinking or whatever.

“It started with that and then I got addicted to sleeping tablets. It’s probably a problem that not only I have but it’s something going around more than people realize in football. Maybe me coming out and speaking about it can help people.

“I definitely abused them too much. I would stop sometimes and go a few months without them but I was never really dealing with the problem.

“It got really bad at some points and I didn’t understand how bad it was but I was never dealing with the root of the problem, which was — when I was growing up — the traumas I had and the feelings I was holding on to.”

Alli would open up about exactly what kind of traumas he had experienced as a child.

“At six I was molested by my mom’s friend who was at the house a lot,” he said. “My mom was an alcoholic.

“I was sent to Africa [to stay with his father] to learn discipline, and then I was sent back,” he said. “At seven, I started smoking, eight I started dealing drugs. An older person told me that they wouldn’t stop a kid on a bike, so I rode around with my football, and then underneath I’d have the drugs.

“At 12, I was adopted — I was adopted by an amazing family, I couldn’t have asked for better people to do what they’ve done for me.”

(Photo by David Berding/Getty Images)

Alli said that after his stint in rehab and sharing his story, he is now motivated to get healthy and return to prominence for Everton.

“Mentally I’m probably in the best place I’ve ever been,” he said. “I feel good. Obviously I’m injured at the minute but I’ve got that passion back for football. I’m doing really well.”

He added: “I look back and I did good, but I’m not satisfied with that. You can’t drive your car looking in the rear-view mirror. The journey from here is just exciting for me.”

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Everton may actually wriggle out of their latest jam, thanks to Yerry Mina

Better late than never, right Toffees?

Everton, having looked for most of the season like a sure candidate for relegation, is once again working on a great escape.

On Saturday, the Toffees trailed at Wolves from the 34th minute, and the home side missed several chances to add a second. That would have set Everton — who kicked off with a one-point edge over the teams in the relegation zone — with an ultra-stressful Sunday.

A 1-0 loss would have allowed Leeds (who face West Ham) and Leicester City (who are at Newcastle) to climb out of the drop zone at Everton’s expense if either managed a win. If Everton were to lose at Wolves and then again in their finale against Bournemouth, Leeds could even pass them with a couple of draws, or on goal difference if they took a single point in their last two matches.

As the 90th minute arrived, Everton got an opening: nine minutes of stoppage time to somehow produce an equalizer. The Toffees needed a hero to score a goal: possibly Dwight McNeil or Demarai Gray, their leading scorers? How about Alex Iwobi, who scored their critical equalizer at Leicester earlier this month?

All worthy scorers, but Everton would end up being saved on the day (and possibly the season) by a less likely star.

Their hero was, you guessed it, Yerry Mina. A center back with just six Premier League appearances in a season marred by injury and a benching — that sounds like the man to score a hugely dramatic goal on the road when his team most desperately needs one.

And there he was, in the ninth minute of those nine minutes of stoppage time, all 6-foot-5 of him stabbing at the ball while falling to produce an equalizer that could end up keeping the Toffees in the Premier League.

Per Opta, Mina’s shot crossed the line with 98:54 on the clock, making it the latest Premier League goal that Everton have scored in at least 17 years. It’s also just Mina’s second of the season, and naturally his first came against…Wolves. Of course it did.

At this stage of last season, Everton were in a similar spot, coming from 2-0 down to beat Crystal Palace 3-2 at Goodison Park, clinching Premier League safety and sparking a pitch invasion before full time.

Watch Mina score a huge goal for Everton

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Premier League home stretch: Where things stand as season enters its final month

Some teams are having a blast, while others are going through it

The Premier League is getting down to the nitty-gritty.

The end of the season is approaching, with most teams having five or six games left to secure a trophy, a spot in Europe, or just keep themselves in the top flight for another year.

For some teams, the end of the season was expected to be a pressure-cooker, but has instead been something of a celebration. For others, it’s one last chance to fight their way to safety, or at least salvage some pride in an otherwise disappointing season.

Here’s where everyone stands heading into the last month of the 2022-23 season.

Alexander Isak debased Everton

With defending like this, Everton won’t even be Championship standard next season

With his dazzling and humiliating assist at Goodison Park, Alexander Isak showed Everton exactly where they belong: the Championship.

The Newcastle forward displayed incredible skill to glide past three Everton defenders, who displayed equally incredible ineptitude late in Thursday’s 4-1 win for the Magpies.

Let’s not take away anything from the Swedish international’s run, which was one of the best of the year and ended up giving Jacob Murphy a tap-in.

But this was a laughable effort from an Everton side who now sit in 19th place with just five Premier League games remaining.

Ben Godfrey, Idrissa Gueye and Michael Keane all took turns swiping at Isak the way a cat bats at a ball of yarn.

Keane spins around a couple times before basically giving up, and Godfrey‘s final attempt showed textbook bullfighting technique.

This was the denouement of the game for the Toffees and perhaps the moment relegation moved from a looming threat to more of a likelihood. With defending like this, Everton won’t even be Championship standard next season.

Watch Isak’s run vs Everton

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Everton manager Sean Dyche savagely roasted Harry Kane’s toughness after a controversial red card

The red card was probably deserved, but some embellishment seemed clear.

Matters grew a little tense between Everton and Tottenham Hotspur on Monday night. Early on in the second half, with the game knotted up in a 0-0 tie, Harry Kane and Abdoulaye Doucouré got into a little scuffle over a loose ball.

After Doucouré took exception to a Kane kick, Kane would accidentally grab hold of Doucouré’s jersey. The Everton midfielder did not appreciate this and took a swipe at Kane’s face, who then fell to the ground. In almost all cases, this would be a deserved red card and probably was here, too.

You can’t be out here unofficially taking swipes and fighting players in the middle of a game, you know?

But Everton manager Sean Dyche was parked right in front of the incident. And when asked about his reaction to Doucouré’s red card Thursday, Dyche had a sarcastic roast of what he clearly felt was embellishment from Kane:

PHEW! The note about Doucouré not having to apologize for leaving his team shorthanded aside … you can’t really “snap” an eyelash. In case it wasn’t obvious, Dyche is laying heavy on the sarcasm, even if the final result was a 1-1 draw.

Everton won’t meet Tottenham again until next season. We’ll have to shelve the next chapter in this story. If there is one.