Everton’s last pre-World Cup home outing ended in defeat to Leicester City.
Frank Lampard’s side fell behind late into first-half stoppage time as Youri Tielemans broke the deadlock with a thunderous volley from 20 yards out.
Harvey Barnes compounded the Blues’ misery just five minutes from the end of the match with a shot on the turn inside Jordan Pickford’s penalty area.
Here were the key talking points from Goodison Park:
One step forward and two back for Blues
Fireworks were inevitable on Bonfire Night beneath the lights at Goodison.
Unfortunately for Everton, the only explosion of noises and colour took place outside the stadium and in front of them during this languid performance.
Back-to-back Premier League home wins would have constituted a perfect sign-off ahead of the enforced break caused by this month’s World Cup.
Yet Frank Lampard’s side spurned the chance to move into the top half of the table as they were soundly beaten by an increasingly reborn Leicester City.
More than that, the Blues did not even lay a glove on their visitors, who continue to transform their own early-season issues in remarkable fashion.
Lampard has always cautioned that evenings such as Saturday would become par for the course while he sought to work out the various kinks in his squad.
Still, following one step forward with two in the opposite direction feels a self-defeating exercise when signs of progress are conspicuous by their absence.
DCL setback underlines need for rethink
It was the image which most Evertonians feared above all else this season.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin breaking down midway through the second half after making his long-awaited return from injury could not have been worse timed.
The England striker’s hamstring problem has left an already fading World Cup dream hanging by a thread but the implications for his club are far greater.
Lampard’s vision for Everton is highly dependent on having Calvert-Lewin firing on all cylinders and, more crucially, fit for long enough to do so.
He offered neither against Leicester, with what little chances the hosts were able to fashion spurned by a heavy first touch or just simply poor finishing.
Placing hopes on him staying away from the treatment table is too great a risk for a team that escaped relegation by the skin of its teeth last season.
Effective as Calvert-Lewin has been, sourcing a reliable, direct replacement must be an immediate priority heading into the January transfer window.
Carelessness comes at a cost again
Costly mistakes are an area that Lampard has tried to eradicate this season.
There is, however, a fundamental difference between genuine misfortune and unforced errors; the latter of which became a recurring theme on Saturday.
Even before Youri Tielemans hit home a thunderous volley on the stroke of half-time, Everton were guilty of being far too ponderous in possession.
For prolonged periods, the ball only moved in a Bermuda Triangle between Jordan Pickford, either James Tarkowsi or Conor Coady and Idrissa Gueye.
That repetitive sequence invited Leicester to press Everton at every turn, forcing them into myriad careless mistakes when playing out from the back.
Two poorly executed clearances in as many minutes from Pickford typified the effectiveness as Brendan Rodgers’ side were able to hoover up the ball at will.
Defensively, too, Lampard’s players were alarmingly slow on the uptake.
Amadou Onana and substitute Abdoulaye Doucoure were both guilty of failing to close down Tielemans and Harvey Barnes for their respective goals.
Once again, that carelessness came at a cost.