Everton battled well against Manchester City on Saturday, but just had too much going against them to have much chance of stealing a result.
Not only were star men Amadou Onana and Abdoulaye Doucoure both unable to start due to injury, but Sean Dyche was forced to watch the match from the stands, having been dealt with a touchline ban for accumulating three yellow cards across this Premier League season.
And yet, despite these outstanding hardships, it took the hosts 70 minutes to finally break them down, with Erling Haaland eventually firing home the inevitable opener which consigned the Toffees to defeat.
However, going into the break with the scores level must have left Dyche and his team pleased.
He has since revealed what he told the players during that interval…
What Sean Dyche said at half time against Manchester City
Speaking to BBC Sport, the former Burnley boss has been admirably transparent throughout his entire tenure at Goodison Park.
That is, despite the unrelenting off-pitch turmoil which continues to plague the club, but has arguably brought the fans closer to the manager and players than ever in recent memory.
His no-nonsense and relatable attitude towards the sport is refreshing, and he really does say it how it is.
Well, in this post-match interview, it is clear that he maintains that attitude when speaking to his players too.
Dyche claimed: ‘Yeah like I say I think the understanding from the side tactically and the work that we do, the work that the coaches do was pleasing. I spoke to them at half-time about the turnover moments.
‘You’ve got to keep the ball, you’ve got to keep that conviction to go and attack properly and we didn’t do that as many times. The number of times we could’ve got in behind their high line and we didn’t really activate on that, so that’s something we were frustrated with.
‘We tried to get there second half but they hurt you, these top sides, look at the strength of their bench shows they’re a top side, it’s what they do. They can find different ways of operating, get a goal from a set piece.’
Everton came so close against the Champions
Although Dyche may have tried to mitigate the threats posed at half-time, in the end it was a shoddy clearance that provided the one chance needed for the opener; their first shot on target of the game.
Then, once behind, in a last-gasp effort to snatch a result, the spaces Everton left were comfortably exploited, resulting in the second.
And yet, it is a 2-0 loss where plenty of positives can still be taken, given just how long it took for the treble-winners to break down their steadfast system away from home.
With Crystal Palace, Brighton and Hove Albion and West Ham United now on the horizon, with defending like that, there is little chance that these three sides will threaten.
The only issue is whether Everton can find that pivotal consistency at the key moment.
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