Didim Today

Everton crashed to thier heaviest defeat in European competition as severely-weakened team were mercilessly exposed by a sensational Benfica side in the Europa League. David Moyes’s side, who were missing 11 players, did well to match their opponents in the first half and trailed at the interval by only a 14th-minute goal from Javier Saviola.

But they were torn apart after the restart, conceding three further goals in five minutes at the start of the second half. Saviola, who had started the rout, finished it with the fifth seven minutes from time.

Leighton Baines’s withdrawal before the match merely added to the selection woes for the Merseysiders with Johnny Heitinga (ineligible), Joseph Yobo, Phil Jagielka, Lucas Neill (ineligible); Leon Osman, Phil Neville, Mikel Arteta, Steven Pienaar; Victor Anichebe and James Vaughan all missing. Donegal-born Seamus Coleman, 21, was handed a professional debut at left back and was given the severest of examinations.

He was not alone. It was men against boys. Luisao should have put Benfica ahead in the fifth minute only to head wide of the post following a corner from Aimar. Benfica made the breakthrough in the 14th minute when Angel Di Mario crossed from the left and Javier Saviola escaped the attentions of Coleman and produced a firmly-struck volley into the ground which found its way into the far corner beyond Tim Howard.

Everton slowly worked their way back into the match and Marouane Fellaini headed wide following a corner from Diniyar Bilyaletdinov. The Russian also sent two well-struck shots over the crossbar before the interval.

The visitors would have had hopes of fighting their way back into the match in the second half but they suffered a double-body blow shortly after the restart, conceding two goals inside a minute. Both times, Di Maria provided inch-perfect crosses from the left and both times Oscar Cardozo was there to apply the finishing touch, the first with his right foot, the second with his head.

Three minutes later it was 4-0, with Luisao beating Sylvain Distin to meet a right-wing corner with a header which bounced into the ground and over Dan Gosling standing on the line. Cardozo missed a great chance of his hat-trick when he fired straight at Howard, but Saviola did grab his second in the closing stages, applying the finishing touch after another assist from the magnificent Di Maria. Timesonline