Lyon heaped yet more misery upon Ronald Koeman on Thursday night by inflicting yet another defeat on Everton at Goodison in the Europa League.
It took just six minutes for the Toffees to fall behind to a Nabil Fekir penalty after Mason Holgate chopped down Fernando Marcal in the box.
However, the undisputed high/lowlight of the game then came about an hour in, when a unsolicited buffeting from Ashley Williams sent Lyon goalkeeper Anthony Lopes sprawling to the floor.
This sparked a miniature brawl between both sets of players, with the red mist also descending in the Gwladys Street End too, as one irate Everton fan came hurtling down from his seat to aim a few half-hearted shoves, slaps and puce-faced howls at the Lyon players, complete with his infant son in tow…
We wouldn’t be overly surprised if Everton find a manilla envelope stamped with the UEFA logo lying on their doormat within the next few days.
Just a few minutes on from the scuffle, Williams (who really can’t catch a break at the moment) was roasted alive on his own deadball line as Maxwell Cornet slung in a low cross for Bertrand Traore to flick home the winner from close range…
Speaking after the game, Lyon ‘keeper Lopes refused to make a big song and dance about his dalliance with the incensed Everton fan.
I don’t think it is part of the English atmosphere to hit an away player. I am proud that we were strong at 1-1 and we won the game despite everything.
It was no big deal, it happened and that was it. For me it seemed to wake up the fans and they seemed to love it.
Again, we can’t see that UEFA will adopt quite such a passive stance about the whole thing.
Anyway, the overall upshot is that Everton are now bottom of Group E having reaped just one point from their first three Europa League matches.