A lacklustre Swansea City side slumped to their second successive defeat of the season as Everton eased to a 3-0 win at the Liberty Stadium this afternoon.
David Moyes’ men dominated from kick off and took a deserved 2-goal at the break, before adding a third in the second as the Swans went down to 10-men following Dyer’s quick dismissal.
Michael Laudrup’s side simply weren’t “at the races” today, and they struggled to cope with Everton – their tempo and constant pressure – they pushed high up the pitch to frustrate the home team and prevented them from playing their typical passing game from the back.
Manager Michael Laudrup made two changes to the side that lost 2-0 at Aston Villa a week ago. Leon Britton made way for Ki Sung-yeung as he struggled with flu, while Nathan Dyer was another surprise to see on the bench, as Pablo Hernandez was handed his full debut on the right wing.
So…where do you start? The Swans looked a shadow of the team that started the season so well. The likes of Michu and Graham simply weren’t and couldn’t get involved, as Everton had the perfect game plan to make the hosts look woeful – and they were. Moyes set his side to play high up the pitch from the word go, while Laudrup had his team lacking any width whatsoever. That led to the visitors having free corridors to run through down the wings, while the Swans had no winger-full back combinations – that they often use to great effect. Hernandez struggled to impress like he did when he came on against Villa last weekend, while Wayne Routledge’s first touch wasn’t helping our cause as he kept losing possession.
Conceding possession and loose passes were gifting Everton chances – not to mention the shaky defence also helping the visitor’s cause. You wondered when their first goal of the opening half would come. It did on 21 minutes, but there looked to be a handball from Fellaini in the lead-up, but their lead was fully deserved as Anichebe volleyed home from 6 yards, giving Vorm no chance to keep the scores level. The Swansea City defence were at sixes and sevens and it was only because Vorm was in fine form that they hadn’t conceded 2 or 3 goals in the first 20 minutes.
After the Toffee’s opener, it took the home side another ten minutes before they had a decent ten minute spell. It was worth nothing though as the visitors doubled their lead 2 minutes before half time.
Swansea’s best chance so far came when Ki Sung Yeung curled a superb right-footed effort that flew just wide of the post from outside of the box. Angel Rangel was also guilty of missing a great opportunity in front of an open goal after seeing another saved by Howard, while Michu saw a header go over from a de Guzman corner.
Michael Laudrup would have been hoping that his side could go into the break just a goal down, but Everton struck again following a superb counter-attacking move, increasing their lead to 2-0 – a fair reflection of the opening 45 minutes.
HALF TIME: SWANSEA CITY 0-2 EVERTON
The Swans needed a massive improvement if they wanted to get anything from this game as Everton were looking comfortably in front.
After lacking width in the first half, Laudrup made a change at the start of the second, and replaced Pablo Hernandez with Nathan Dyer.
The winger looked to make an impact early on but he made the task of getting a point almost impossible for the Swans when he got booked twice within 12 minutes and was sent off – for a second foul that you can only describe as stupid, having already picked up a yellow card minutes before.
Alan Tate’s performance was summed up when he was replaced by Leon Britton on 55 minutes, as Ki Sung Yeung slotted in at centre back alongside Ashley Williams. It was an unfortunate move for the former Celtic midfielder as he was one of very few players that was keeping the ball well and creating a few chances.
Laudrup’s side looked like they were playing with ten men from the first minute and Everton were finding even more gaps in the attacking third when they actually did lose a man. The visitors missed a host of chances as Vorm was forced into making a flurry of saves before the East Stand chanted his name in appreciation. The Dutchman was certainly helping to avoid it becoming a complete embarrassment for the Swans in front of not only a full house at the Liberty Stadium, but also the Sky Sports cameras.
The Toffees eventually got the inevitable third goal as Fellaini made up for a previous miss from close range, as his header from Baines’ cross deflected past the unfortunate Vorm.
de Guzman looked to get a late consolation goal as he watched a 25-yard free-kick bounce back off the bar, but it was only one of a very few chances in the entire game on a day to forget for Laudrup and his players.
The absences in defence showed as they lacked any shape or organisation, while the Swans simply couldn’t cope whatsoever with Everton’s game plan of piling the pressure on high up the pitch. The midfield, crucial to their passing game, failed to maintain possession as Everton continuously attacked through the middle as if they wasn’t there.
It’s two below-par performances and two defeats in a row now for Michael Laudrup’ side, and they’ll have to step up their game considerably next week when they travel to Stoke City.
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