Villa win at struggling Everton as objects rain down from the stands

LIVERPOOL, England: Everton's first match of the post-Rafa Benitez era began with a 1-0 Premier League defeat by Aston Villa on Saturday (Jan 22) amid a tense atmosphere at Goodison Park where the visiting team were hit by missiles thrown from the crowd.

A lively first half ended with Emiliano Buendia scoring with a flicked header that arced over Jordan Pickford in goal and the provocative celebrations led to a bottle being launched from the stands and hitting the Villa players.

Lucas Digne, who was booed by Everton fans on his return to Goodison Park since last week's transfer, provided the assist and he was also hit by an object, with stewards and police trying to identify the perpetrators.

Duncan Ferguson, in interim charge at Everton for a second time after his brief caretaker stint in 2019, had asked his players to show "fight and determination" but scoring opportunities were in short supply in the first half.

Winger Anthony Gordon's introduction greatly improved Everton's attack in the second half but his team mates failed to convert his delightful crosses into the box as Villa held on to provisionally move up to 10th with 26 points.

Everton are 16th on 19 points, five points above the relegation zone, having secured one league win since September.

Their sorry state was highlighted by a banner flown over the stadium with the words "22 years of failure Bill", aimed at club chairman Bill Kenwright.