Conor Coady admitted his calculated gamble backfired spectacularly during Everton’s 2-0 defeat at Liverpool.
The Toffees made the trip to face their neighbours off the back of a positive start to Sean Dyche’s reign after beating Arsenal last week. And they would have fancied their chances against a struggling Liverpool side who hadn’t won a Premier League game in 2023.
However, goals from Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo condemned Everton to a defeat which means they remain mired in the relegation zone. It was a deeply frustrating night for the visitors who made two crucial errors leading to goals.
The opener came shortly before the break when Salah finished off a sweeping counter attack moments after Everton had hit the post at the other end. Darwin Nunez flew down the pitch on the break and crossed the ball in for Salah with Jordan Pickford left stranded out of his goal.
Dyche will have then hoped his words of wisdom at half time could change the game, but they were made null and void less than five minutes into the second half.
After another Liverpool counter, Trent Alexander-Arnold fired a ball across the face of the goal with Gakpo tapping in at the far post. However, before it had reached the Dutchman, Coady had the opportunity to make contact with the ball, instead opting to let it run beyond him.
And speaking after the game, the defender revealed he didn’t really know what was behind him - hoping it was a team-mate rather than an opponent. “I'll be honest with you, I was hoping nobody was going to be there."
He added: “The cross had a little bit of a deflection so it’s hit more towards Picks [Pickford] and I was hoping nobody was gonna be there at the back because if I touch it I’ll slide and I think it’s going in my own net.
“No matter what it’s going to go in the goal, and I was just hoping Seamus [Coleman] was there to knock it out or whatever it may be.
“It’s one of them the counter attack was given away and when you’re put into that situation it’s a tough one to make a decision in that split moment. We’re gutted by it, we’re gutted by everything.”
Coady and his Everton team-mates were left bemoaning the fine margins of Premier League football, with Salah’s goal coming just 18 seconds after James Tarkowski hit the post with a header: “It is [fine margins], them things happen in the Premier League, not just games like this but them things happen in the Premier League,” Coady said.
“The teams are good in the league and that’s what happens but we can’t continue to give two counter attacks away. It’s not the fact we’ve missed the chance, we all miss chances, he hit the post, it was terrific from the big fella and we’re great from corners, it’s us giving away counter attacks knowing that’s what they’re good at and what they want.
“We need to look at ourselves and where we can put that right, can we be a little bit more savvy? Because that’s what the bigger teams tend to do as well.”
