Everton back to winning ways with defeat over sunderland

Ronald Koeman stuffed his hands in his pockets and kicked at the floor. There was a shake of his head, an arm raised in exasperation then he ran his hand frustratedly through his hair. Everton were winning 2-0 at this point, their place in the next round of the Carabao Cup long since secured, but to watch Koeman prowl his technical area was to receive a lesson in the pressures of Premier League management.

Thanks to an inspired performance from Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Everton’s wait for a win and a goal ended at the expense of hapless Sunderland but Koeman is well aware the scrutiny will not leave him until victories are accumulated in the top flight.

Still, if he looked like being preoccupied, the team he selected minus Wayne Rooney finally found its stride and Calvert-Lewin once again grasped his chance to show that he has a bright future.

Here was a prime opportunity to rebuild confidence and even though Koeman made eight changes to the team that had folded at Old Trafford, Everton should still have had enough to make short work of a Sunderland team that languishes in 21st place in the Championship.

This, however, was one of those nights at Goodison Park when the lack of atmosphere and noise made it quite clear that home supporters were waiting to pass judgement about those in Royal Blue. After a wretched sequence, Everton had it all to prove.

They played that way in patches, too. Early touches were heavy, mistakes crept in and James Vaughan – once the youngest goalscorer in Premier League history when he has an Everton teenager in 2005 – fluffed a chance to punish a Mohamed Besic error.