April 2020
Europa League Quarterfinal
First Leg: Everton 1 - 0 Porto
What a match! Everton was in control, but almost every time Everton had the ball, a Porto player would foul and concede a Gabbiadini free kick, which is a low percentage prospect even with such a great player. Eventually, the cards would stack up and Jose Brito would be double booked. It would go to 10 on 10 when Juan Jesus was red carded for a deliberate handball. It looked like it would be a scoreless draw, but Serge Ribes blasted a ball into the net from distance to create the winner in stoppage time and create a small lead for Everton going into the away leg.
Player of the Match: Diego Reyes (Porto)
Arsenal 3 - 0 Everton
Yoo Hoon's injury was disastrous for us as it was the Ephraim Mofokeng Show, and that Mofoker scored a hat trick against us. As well, Arsenal kept our attack out of the game, surprisingly.
Player of the Match: Ephraim Mofokeng (Arsenal)
- Yoo Hoon suffered a dislocated shoulder and will miss the rest of the season. Time for the Mofokeng show to go regular.
Europa League Quarterfinal
Second Leg: Porto 2 - 1 Everton
Porto 2 - 2 Everton on aggregate (Everton wins on away goals)
- We just knew this would be a nailbiter. Kevin Mirallas scored the first goal on a nice close-range finish. James Jerley Mosquera conceded a penalty early in the second half and Manolo Gabbiadini came through huge, scoring a goal that counted more than one goal thanks to the away goals rule. Mario Ferreira scored a diving header to tie it up, and despite high drama as Porto was seeking another goal, they couldn't, and Everton were through despite the loss.
Player of the Match: Rob Reddy (Everton)
Yellow Card Suspension: Manolo Gabbiadini will be suspended for the next Europa League match due to yellow card accumulation.
- Everton will play Napoli in the Europa League Semifinal. Their opponent will be the winner of Valencia/Fenerbahce.
Everton 3 - 0 West Brom
Hernan Ramirez got Everton off to a hot start with a brace scored on 3 and 10 minutes. Ricardo Gomez put it far out of reach when he scored a bizarre goal, one of West Brom's players slid the ball slowly towards his goalkeeper, and Gomez was the first one to get to it.
Player of the Match: Hernan Ramirez (Everton)
Everton 3 - 1 Chelsea
Chelsea's John Stones had to look on despondently as Viktor Fischer, Manolo Gabbiadini, and Ricardo Gomez each scored goals past Chelsea's defense, and they simply could not conjure up a sufficient attack to counter it.
Player of the Match: Tarek Said (Everton)
FA Cup Semifinal at Wembley Stadium
Everton 2 - 0 Leeds
Leeds' fairytale run comes to an end as an early brace from Loic Hourcade ensures Everton are on to the final!
Injury Update: Armand Mbock suffered a twisted knee and will miss about 2 weeks.
- Manchester City defeated Manchester United 2-1 in the other FA Cup Semifinal, so Everton will play City in the final, in a rematch of the 1933 final which Everton won.
Europa League Semifinal
First Leg: Everton 3 - 0 Napoli
Hernan Ramirez had a great performance, scoring a brace, sandwiched around Rob Reddy's direct free kick goal, on top of a smothering defensive performance, which put Everton in great position to reach the Europa League final.
Player of the Match: Hernan Ramirez (Everton)
Liverpool 0 - 2 Everton
It was a hard fought battle as Liverpool had so much more to play for, but Hernan Ramirez finally broke through to score. I subbed in Rob Reddy as a second striker because I was out of them and he actually had a pretty decent performance, breaking through the line twice, and he crossed the ball in, Martin Skrtel got to it and headed it into his own net for some Benny Hill-inspired comedy.
Player of the Match: Renato Dall'Oglio (Everton)
- Everton have qualified for the 2020 Champions League and secured a top two finish in the Premier League.
Europa League Semifinal
Second Leg: Napoli 1 - 1 Everton
Napoli 1 - 4 Everton on aggregate
It was a close match possession wise but our defense and goalkeeper played well. Viktor Fischer scored the first goal on a great long pass from Serge Ribas. He beat Napoli's line, rounded the keeper, and had a gapingly wide open net for his pleasure. The goal meant Napoli would have to score 5 to win, and that wasn't happening. Edinson Cavani pulled one back, but it was way too little, way too late.
Player of the Match: Alex Song (Napoli)
- Everton will play Valencia in the Europa League Final at the Stadium of Light. Everton has home country advantage but Valencia are a tough team and we'll have to play well to win.
Transfers
In
N/AOut
N/APremier League Table
We have secured a second place finish in the Premier League, but there isn't any reason why we can't go for first. One of our matches is a home encounter against Man City, if we can win it, we definitely have a chance if we can beat Stoke and Swansea to close out the season. In addition, there may not be a Merseyside Derby next season, as Liverpool is teetering closer towards relegation.
Awards
Manager of the Month: Nathan Limior (2nd)