Everton’s interim manager Scott Phelan said that his side could have been a bit more competitive after they went down 4-1 to current Barclays Women’s Super League champions Chelsea at Goodison Park on Sunday.
Sam Kerr netted a brace while Ellie Carpenter and Erin Cuthbert were also on target as Chelsea made relatively easy work of The Toffees.
When speaking to the media after the game, Everton’s interim boss Phelan highlighted the key moments where his side fell short.
“They’re a good team,” Phelan said. “They’ve got individuals who seem to only need half a moment to punish you.
“I think the first half was competitive, but within eight minutes [of the second half] I think we were 3-1 down which is frustrating.
“This is the learning. When you play against the top teams and the top individuals, they just punish you. They’re ruthless and all of a sudden, a mountain to climb feels even bigger. It probably affected us psychologically and everything becomes a little bit tougher.
“There were positives in the first half. We know these games are tough against the best teams, we just wish we could have been a bit more competitive and a little bit longer.”
Everton have almost completed a full season at Goodison Park and Phelan reflected on the experience.
He said “We were really excited at the start of the season and obviously, since I’ve been involved with the team, we’ve had three home fixtures. The noise from the crowd is really good, that’s something that continues to spur the players on, whether we’re winning or losing, so we definitely appreciate that. Having the opportunity to play here is something that not every team will have at this moment in time, so we want to make the most of it. We want to make it our home and it feel like home and that has to start with probably one or two more positive results.”
Everton end the season with a trip to Arsenal and a home game against Leicester City. Phelan highlighted the importance of getting some unavailable players back for those games.
He said “We will hopefully have quite a few players back by the time that [Arsenal] game comes around. There’s a slight delay again with it being rearranged for a midweek game due to their involvement in the Champions League which actually might disrupt any momentum.
“It helps us get some players back. That’s definitely not an excuse, but against the top teams, you want to be at full strength and that wasn’t the case today. Arsenal have got good players, whether it’s the starting XI or ones that support from the side. We’ll expect a tough game, but again, we want to try and make an impression in these games, so hopefully that can be the case.”
Everton’s next fixture against Arsenal takes place at the Emirates Stadium on Wednesday 13 May 2026
