Frank Lampard was fiercely critical of his Everton side’s performance as they crashed out of the League Cup, increasing the pressure on the manager four days before they return to the Vitality Stadium for a Premier League decider.
Lampard made 11 changes to the starting line-up but insisted his side should have been more than capable of progressing to the fourth round. Instead, they fell behind from the moment Jamal Lowe put Bournemouth ahead in the seventh minute and rarely looked like clawing their way back into the game.
Demarai Gray’s 66th-minute goal was the only positive for the visitors, but that came after Junior Stanislas doubled the lead following a Mason Holgate error early in the second half, and Emiliano Marcondes and Jayden Anthony completed a comfortable win for the home side late on the match.
“The fans had to put up with a poor performance, there’s no doubt about it,” Lampard said. “When they come to support us and the players perform like they did, we have to put our hands up and say it’s not enough.
“I made changes to protect some of the players before the league game. But I also made some changes because some players knock on your door and others make arguments in training. They should be able to come to Bournemouth and compete and I think win the game. And they didn’t. That’s clear as day. And I think the fans saw and I don’t need to kid them.
“In such matches you understand how strong the team is. I learned more tonight than watching practice. The second goal cannot happen at this level in football. And there was a mistake on the fourth goal, so they are individuals who should put their hands up. The good thing is we’re going to look different and play different here on Saturday. And if you offer us the three points, I’ll be relatively happy with where we are.”
Bournemouth had squandered two-goal leads in their previous two games and interim head coach Gary O’Neill said: “It was a real test for them when we were 2-1 up. But on Saturday it will be completely different.”
Match details
Bournemouth (4-3-3): Travers 6; Stacey 7, Stevens 7, Mepham 7, Zemura 7 (Fredericks 64, 6); Christie 8 (Sadie 88, 6), Pearson 7, Rothwell 6 (Siriqui 75, 6); Lowe 8 (Hill 88, 6), Stanislas 7 (Marcondes, 65, 6), Anthony 6. Unused substitutes: Plain, Cook, Tavernier, Greenwood. Yellow cards: Stevens, Pearson, Anthony. Everton (3-5-2) : Begovic 6; Keane 6, Mina 6, Holgate 5 (McNeill 51, 6); Patterson 6, Ducourt 5 (Mills 80, 6), Garner 6 (Iwobi 51, 6), Davies 5, Vinagre 6; Gordon 5 (Gray 51, 6), Maupay 6 (80, 6) Subs not used: Lonergan, Welch, Samuels-Smith, Price. Yellow card: Mina, Gordon. Referee: Darren England 6
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