The man Jürgen Klopp once termed the king of cup competitions is yet to live up to his reputation in that department since revolutionising Aston Villa, with Everton advancing to the fourth round of the Carabao Cup at the expense of Unai Emery’s side courtesy of goals by James Garner and Dominic Calvert-Lewin. The Villa substitute Boubacar Kamara pulled a goal back late on but Everton held on through five minutes of nervy second-half stoppage time.
The fact that Emery has won numerous cups on the continent is undeniable, but things have been very different since he joined Villa last November. An embarrassing FA Cup third-round loss to League Two opponent Stevenage at home earlier this year, and last week’s return to European group-stage play in Warsaw did not go as planned. Last season, in the same round of this competition, his second game in charge ended in a loss to Manchester United.
When these teams last faced off, here in the Premier League, a month ago, Villa destroyed their opponent, winning 4-0. It wasn’t quite a case of role-reversal, but Everton was significantly superior from the moment Youri Tielemans placed a dipping drive on the roof of Jordan Pickford’s net on minutes eight. Robin Olsen, who filled in for Emiliano Martnez, seemed unimpressive and Pau Torres was jittery when speaking. After 15 minutes of head-to-head play between Calvert-Lewin and Arnaut Danjuma, Olsen’s weak kick allowed Everton to take the lead. Amadou Onana then perfectly placed a reverse pass to find Garner. After controlling the ball with his right foot, Garner took a moment to gather himself before welling it into Olsen’s near post.Cue a wall of noise from more than 4,000 Everton fans stationed in the North Stand, normally home to Villa fans. Calvert-Lewin was jeered off on his last visit to Villa Park in August and Michael Keane, who endured a nightmarish afternoon, has not started a league game since. Seven of that lineup also started here but Everton were a different beast under the lights. Jack Harrison was brilliant on debut, harrying Torres at every opportunity and he superbly freed Calvert-Lewin towards the end of the first half. Calvert-Lewin read the sumptuous pass but shot at Olsen and then hit the rebound, albeit from an acute angle, against the side netting.
At halftime, Emery made three substitutions, which says a lot. Ollie Watkins, Lucas Digne, and Kamara all entered, and all three are expected to return to the starting lineup when Manchester City hosts Brighton on Saturday. Prior to Digne’s arrival, the captain John McGinn filled in for the injured Lex Moreno at left-back in an unconventional manner. The five substitutions from Everton’s victory against Brentford, none more so than Harrison, gave them a boost.
Villa could not possibly play any worse, right? They were two goals behind after five minutes of the second half. When Tielemans shortchanged Ezri Konsa, Calvert-Lewin pounced on the loose ball, raced forward, and calmly finished with just Olsen to contend with. After Watkins surged forward, Pickford made a shrewd save to stop Moussa Diaby two minutes later, but up until Kamara’s deflected goal in the 83rd minute, which guaranteed a spectacular conclusion, Everton were strangely at ease. According to Everton manager Sean Dyche, the club’s history has spanned two or three seasons and has been marred by uncertainty. “We are the only ones who can change the plot.
