Everton departed Stamford Bridge last night having made history for all the wrong reasons.
After all, not only was the 6-0 loss the worst of Sean Dyche’s managerial career, but it was also the harshest defeat that the club had suffered in their last 19 years of Premier League football.
James Tarkowski even went as far as to brand it the most ‘embarrassed’ he had ever felt across his entire career.
Not a night to savour, but certainly one to learn from.
This cannot happen again, and it simply must mark the moment that finally changes things for a lacklustre side who have underwhelmed for four straight months now.
Sean Dyche delivers his assessment of Chelsea disaster
Speaking to Everton’s official website immediately after last night’s demolition, the former Burnley boss was unsurprisingly downbeat in his assessment of the performance.
After all, there was virtually nothing of note to laud, with there being no player leaving the pitch with any credit whatsoever.
And yet, Dyche still attested that his side was in the game early on, before disaster truly struck.
He claimed: ‘We made them uncomfortable, we had a chance in the first minute or so – but you can’t defend like that.
‘It’s unusual but we can’t defend like that. There’s no fight in the defending, there was no detail in the defending, no hard yards or tackling. It was bizarre, like shadow football for their goals. It was way off the mark, miles off the mark.
‘The last time we were miles off was Villa away. The good thing was that gave us a stark reminder. We need to use this as a stark reminder – it certainly has been for me. I am looking at the players I am picking and I am going, ‘Right, okay there’s a reminder for me.’
Everton are lucky that the Premier League is so weak
This has been a ridiculous Premier League season for many reasons, not least because of the lack of quality at the bottom end of the table.
After all, it is simply mind-boggling to think that Everton have won just once in the league since December, having been dealt two points deductions totalling eight points, and yet are still two points clear of the bottom three.
Any other season and they’d likely have been dead and buried, but Luton Town and Nottingham Forest are inexplicably still below them.
Dyche is so fortunate that there is such a lack of quality this season, and that he still has those two sides to play before the season is up.
Should they avoid defeat, there is every chance that it would prove enough to keep them afloat and end this abysmal campaign without relegation again.