Everton slipped to a late New Year’s Day defeat against West Ham United.
A sub-par encounter was settled in the 86th minute when Tomas Soucek met Aaron Cresswell’s deflected effort at the far post to give the visitors the win.
The result saw Carlo Ancelotti’s side denied a fifth consecutive Premier League victory and the chance to return to second place in the table.
Here were the key talking points from Goodison Park:
Blues go backwards again
A New Year arrived but Everton still produced the same, tired old story.
Whenever the opportunity arises to take a seismic stride beyond incremental progress, they invariably capitulate and in spectacularly embarrassing fashion.
The chance to climb back up to second – or ‘joint top’ as it’s now called – proved too strong for Carlo Ancelotti’s side in a truly uninspiring affair.
Had they still been allowed, the 2,000 Evertonians stationed on the Gwladys Street would have been howling at the glowing moon hovering just above it.
Failing to push on has become par for the course for the Blues and even a truly elite-level manager like Ancelotti is struggling to break them of the habit.
In time, they might overcome it but the rigmarole of perennially taking one step forward and two back looks set to dog Goodison Park for some time yet.
Did fans’ absence have an impact?
Ancelotti argued post-match that this was a game in which Everton deserved to neither lose nor win. He did, however, overlook a potential crucial factor.
For the previous three matches, Goodison had seen fans return in small numbers as part of Liverpool’s privileged status as a Tier 2 coronavirus region.
Whether the vocal presence of supporters would have stoked some fire into a game which was as cold and insipid as the temperature remains to be seen.
It clearly did not have the desired effect as their side clung on until the very last in the Carabao Cup quarter final exit to Manchester United pre-Christmas.
Manchester City’s postponed visit in the Premier League would have offered a stronger bellwether of home advantage as it did against Chelsea and Arsenal.
Unfortunately we will never know if the Gwladys Street’s roar would have galvanised Everton’s players to raise the bar against the east Londoners.
Moyes breaks his Goodison hoodoo
Goodison provided David Moyes with myriad happy memories during his time in the hot seat. The story has been very different since leaving it in 2013.
Prior to the Hammers’ scrappy win, the Scot’s intermittent returns to his one-time stomping ground were littered with misery and four straight losses.
Only September’s Carabao Cup tie arrived without the presence of home fans. Not that it would likely have made much difference to his former charges.
Another psychological barrier that Moyes failed to overcome while Everton manager was an inability to win away at one of the league’s top four clubs.
It is not likely to remain the case by the season’s end but his old club still occupying the final Champions League spot offers him a slight technicality.
Ancelotti still needs reinforcements
Most of the talk around Everton’s January business centres on a permanent deal for Robin Olsen and the possible arrival of Sami Khedira from Juventus.
Yet Ancelotti’s focus should be on issues further downfield with Dominic Calvert-Lewin started of any meaningful service against West Ham.
The England international’s toil was compounded by Richarlison, in his first game since recovering from concussion, constantly running down blind alleys.
Alex Iwobi’s absence, too, did little to vindicate his manager’s belief that this squad can compete for a European place when operating at full capacity.
Such ideology appears somewhat fanciful in a campaign where injuries are becoming more prevalent due to the heavily convoluted fixture scheduling.
Add to that Cenk Tosun’s potential reunion with Sam Allardyce at West Brom and Everton’s attacking rank and file appears worryingly light on options.