Everton threw away a two-goal lead to lose at home to Bournemouth.
Michael Keane broke the deadlock early in the second half by rifling home after Dominic Calvert-Lewin chested Jack Harrison’s cross into his path.
The Blues doubled their lead seven minutes later as Calvert-Lewin opened his account for the season with a dinked finish from Dwight McNeil’s through ball.
But Sean Dyche’s side saw their advantage halved in the closing stages as the Cherries scored through Antoine Semenyo prodding in at close-range.
The visitors continued to ramp up the pressure in added time and produced a leveller when Lewis Cook powered past Jordan Pickford in the Park End net.
Bournemouth snatched a winner in near-identical fashion as the clock ticked down when Luis Sinisterra met Justin Kluivert’s cross with another header.
Here were the key talking points from Goodison Park:
Has Dyche finally lost the fans?
There’s a reason why they say a 2-0 lead is the most dangerous in football.
For 86 minutes, Everton appeared to be cruising towards a first win of the new Premier League season after a second-half blitz inside seven minutes.
Yet the final whistle confirmed a result which, even by the chaotic standards of Goodison Park’s recent history, was a fresh nadir for Sean Dyche’s side.
The Blues’ manager had set his team up well and repaid handsomely by Michael Keane and Dominic Calvert-Lewin plundering two quick-fire goals.
Dyche, however, made two costly mistakes that shifted momentum towards Bournemouth by withdrawing the influential Iliman Ndiaye and Calvert-Lewin.
It evoked parallels of the events leading up to a 5-2 reversal by Watford in 2021, during Rafael Benitez’s ill-fated and ultimately brief spell at the helm.
Goodison’s visceral outpouring after Luis Sinisterra plundered his late winner and at the final whistle spoke of a fanbase whose patience is beyond tested.
He is not in any imminent danger, largely due to working under a rudderless hierarchy, but this may be the moment Dyche finally lost Evertonians’ faith.
DCL eases back into his groove
The abject nature of Everton’s latest capitulation should not fully detract from genuine bright spots, notably Calvert-Lewin’s first goal of the new season.
On an afternoon when Goodison paid an emotional tribute to Kevin Campbell, it felt almost fitting that the club’s current No.9 enjoyed a renaissance spell.
Calvert-Lewin is no ‘Super Kev’ but he demonstrated several traits which would have gained a seal of approval from Everton’s late former captain.
A chested assist for Keane’s opener, after the defender ventured up field early in the second half, demonstrated his often underappreciated selfless streak.
The one-time England striker’s best was still to come as he produced a scooped finish in the penalty area to have the beating of Kepa Arrizabalaga.
Beyond his goal involvements, Calvert-Lewin continually proved a handful for the Cherries’ backline; making darting runs in behind as Everton built attacks.
Given last season’s 23-game drought, it would be premature to simply declare this an end to the 27-year-old’s perennial struggles with both fitness and form.
But there were signs that Calvert-Lewin might be getting back into his groove.
Iroegbunam already looks a steal
Few Everton players emerged with real credit at the end of their late collapse on Saturday afternoon, but Tim Iroegbunam remains firmly beyond reproach.
Since making the switch from Aston Villa earlier this summer, the midfielder has been a revelation and merits comparisons with an ex-Goodison figure.
Although effectively swapped for Lewis Dobbin, who headed in the opposite direction, he is actually a replacement for another of the Villans’ new recruits.
Similarities between Iroegbunam and Amadou Onana are arguably more valid given how the latter’s value appreciated during his time on Merseyside.
But where the Belgian would only turn on the style for the league’s big hitters, especially when Arsenal came to town, Iroegbunam is far less discriminatory.
For a fourth consecutive game this season, the 21-year-old was already head and shoulders above his teammates as early as the quarter-hour mark
If he continues on this current, impressive trajectory, it will not be long before the Premier League’s elite are again hammering down Everton’s door again.
Given Onana was sold for one-and-a-half times his original transfer value, the £9 million shelled out for Iroegbunam already looks to be an absolute steal.