Sean Dyche dismissed accusations that Everton collapsed during their 4-0 loss to Manchester United, despite a disappointing second-half performance. After a strong start at Old Trafford, Everton found themselves 2-0 down at halftime following two avoidable goals. Early in the second half, a defensive error allowed Marcus Rashford to score within the first minute, and Joshua Zirkzee added a fourth shortly after.
When questioned about the team’s inability to respond after the break, Dyche firmly stated: “There was no collapse. They scored the third goal within 30 seconds of the restart, and going 3-0 down at any level, particularly at this level, is very difficult to recover from.”
The turning point came when Jarrad Branthwaite accidentally turned a Rashford shot into his own net, and moments later, he was dispossessed in midfield, leading to Zirkzee’s goal after a quick pass from Bruno Fernandes. Dyche acknowledged the frustration of conceding so soon after the restart: “You can’t anticipate that. I’ve never seen a team I’ve worked with give away a goal like that. It wasn’t just the goal itself, but the situation it created for the opposition.”
The Everton boss emphasized that the second goal, while stemming from a mistake, wasn’t indicative of a collapse. “It wasn’t a collapse; it was just an absurd moment to concede such an easy goal,” Dyche said. “The real frustration was that these are good players who don’t usually make those types of errors. As a team, we simply couldn’t afford to give away such goals.” He concluded by saying the players are fully aware of the mistakes they made.
