Everton suffered yet another crushing blow as they were dumped out of the FA Cup in humiliating style with a 4-0 defeat to Crystal Palace.
Marc Guehi headed the Eagles into the lead, Jean-Philippe Mateta capped off a slick team move, Wilfried Zaha bagged a fortuitous third and Will Hughes completed the rout by sweeping home a rebound.
Toffees boss Frank Lampard, however, has received huge backlash from football fanatics after he claimed three of Patrick Vieira’s side goals were ‘average’ or ‘fluke’ in his post-match interview.
Everton suffered yet another blow as they were dumped out of the FA Cup with a 4-0 defeat
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Everton boss Frank Lampard claims three of Crystal Palace’s four goals were ‘average’ or ‘fluke’
The focus for the Toffees remains avoiding relegation from the Premier League, but a trip to Wembley Stadium for a semi-final tie, would have surely been a welcome boost.
Lampard frustratingly said: ‘The players performed at 70 per cent today and it’s not good enough. We started really well and controlled the game.
‘Then we allowed a goal from a corner, then another average goal, a fluke goal and another average goal
‘We came here to try to get to Wembley and we gave Palace a pass to get into the semi-final. Palace didn’t play that well and they won 4-0. The players have got to take responsibility.
Lampard was frustrated as he reflected on his side’s heavy defeat at Selhurst Park
‘We’ve told the players to be tough, resilient, strong, and to trust in themselves – and we back them to be confident. The players have to do that in games.
‘Since I’ve come in, we’ve had some good and bad moments and, a lot of the time, I’ll defend the idea of the players.
‘When I came in, I knew we were on a losing run and what the mentality may be. But now it’s the end of that story and we have 11 games left to show character.
‘If anyone doesn’t want to show character and doesn’t want to fight, they won’t be part of it.’
Fans were quick to react to his judgements on the match at Selhurst Park by slating his opinions on social media.
Fans were quick to react to his interview after Everton were thrashed 4-0 by Crystal Palace
One fan was keen to criticise Lampard as a manager after his post-match comments
Another was cut-throat and believes Lampard has no idea of what he’s doing at Everton
One fan was very direct by stating Lampard needs wipe his eyes in his frustrated interview
One fan saying: ‘Can’t believe a manager said that ahaha sounds like me when I lose on FIFA.’
A second, posting: ‘Is Lampard the least likeable manager in the world.’
Another adding: ‘He’s got absolutely no idea what he’s doing.’
Another fan simply stating: ‘Wipe ur eyes.’
Everton currently sit 17th in the Premier League, just three points above the drop zone, as they head into the final stretch of the campaign.
It’s going to be a tough test for Lampard to ensure the Toffees safety, but they still have games in hand on close rivals, and will need to make the most of those by picking up vital points.