Alex Iwobi taken off as Everton suffer defeat against Aston Villa

Alex Iwobi has fared better but his currently in a relegation battle with Everton

PREMIER LEAGUE Alex Iwobi taken off as Everton suffer defeat against Aston Villa

Joba Ogunwale 18:36 - 25.02.2023

The Super Eagles star could not help the Toffees avoid defeat in their Premier League clash against Unai Emery’s men.

Super Eagles star Alex Iwobi’s creative efforts were not enough as Everton's misery continued following a 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa in their Premier League encounter at Goodison Park. 

Iwobi started the game but could not replicate his heroics against Leeds before he was substituted in the 70th minute. 

Iwobi's lively first half 

The Nigeria international had supplied the assist for Everton’s lone goal against Leeds last week but could not do the same against Unai Emery’s men. 

It was not for lack of trying, though, as Iwobi had two key passes in the game and one shot cleared off the line. 

Iwobi had an effort cleared off the line

The Nigerian midfielder also completed two dribbles and had three successful long balls in addition to three accurate crosses. 

Everton went into the game looking to pull themselves further away from the relegation zone after beating Leeds. 

The Toffees started brightly, with Iwobi causing a threat in Villa’s box. However, the ex-Arsenal star could not convert Dwight McNeil’s cross. 

Villa responded with an attack of their own but Jordan Pickford did brilliantly to deny Ollie Watkins from close range. 

Moments later, it was Everton who got close again, but Onana’s header was dealt with by Emiliano Martinez.

https://twitter.com/AVFCOfficial/status/1629509038290661376

Both teams went into the break with the scores tied despite creating a few chances. 

Villa pile more misery on Everton

The second half resumed with the same intensity as the first but it was Villa who found the breakthrough from the penalty spot after James McGinn was fouled in the box. 

Watkins stepped up to convert the resulting penalty and put Villa ahead. Everton manager Sean Dyche reacted by taking off Iwobi for Demarai Gray in the 70th minute. 

However, it had no effect as Emiliano Buendia’s brilliant strike nine minutes from time sealed a comfortable 2-0 win for the away side. 

The result takes Everton back into the relegation zone after Leeds beat Southampton 1-0 in another Premier League game. 

var widgetLoaderConfig = widgetLoaderConfig || { CDN_URL: 'https://widgets.sportal365.com', APP_LINK: 'desktop', API_URL: 'https://africa.football.api.sportal365.com/', API_KEY: '2f852b4de2f3a5cf3188e74b33087bb4:2c18422f8e826a7d11aeed52edb2449e', LANG: 'en', REQUEST_INTERVAL: 30, ENABLE_BET_SLIP: false, AUTHOR: false, THEME: "light", TOURNAMENT_ORDER: "pulse_nigeria", LINK_OPTIONS_V2: { 'player' : { 'url': '/football/player/{playerId}' }, 'team' : { 'url': '/football/{teamId}' }, 'tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}' }, 'match': { 'url' : '/football/match/{matchId}', 'sort': { 'criteria': 'alphabetically', 'direction': 'asc' } }, 'configuration': { 'newWindow': false }, 'standings_tournament': { 'url': '/football/competition/{tournamentId}/standings' } } }; if (!document.querySelector('script[src="https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js"]')) { window.setTimeout(function () { let scriptCss = document.createElement('link'); scriptCss.href = 'https://www.pulsesports.ug/css/sport-widgets.css?v=1668785443'; scriptCss.rel = 'stylesheet'; scriptCss.type = 'text/css'; document.body.appendChild(scriptCss); let scriptTag = document.createElement('script'); scriptTag.src = 'https://widgets.sportal365.com/loader.bundle.min.js'; scriptTag.defer = true; scriptTag.onload = function () { window.setTimeout(function () { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }, 200); }; document.head.appendChild(scriptTag); }, 0); } else { new SMPWidgetsLoader(widgetLoaderConfig); }

Next up for the Toffees is an away trip to the Emirates, where they will take on Arsenal. 

Related content