Everton boss admits ‘big blow’ as injury crisis worsens
Everton make historic Goodison Park decision as Merseyside derby change confirmed
Everton have confirmed their women’s team will play back-to-back home fixtures at Goodison Park for the first time in their history.
The Blues’ game against Chelsea on Sunday, November 3 (6.45pm GMT) will now be played at the iconic stadium, with the match taking place two weeks before Everton host Liverpool at Goodison Park on Saturday, November 16 (2pm GMT). The double-header follows Everton Women’s four previous outings at Goodison, including a stunning 2-1 comeback win over Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-finals in September 2020.
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The 2022/23 edition of the home Merseyside derby saw a record-breaking crowd of more than 22,000 attend an entertaining and closely-contested 1-1 draw. In an historic change for this season – the club’s final year at Goodison Park – fans, for the first time ever, can watch Everton Women twice at the stadium, with Liverpool’s visit to the Grand Old Lady coinciding with the men’s international break.
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Brian Sorensen’s side have endured a tricky start to the Women’s Super League (WSL) so far, losing 4-0 to Brighton & Hove Albion on the opening day before suffering a narrow defeat to Manchester United. Everton have also lost two players, midfielders Inma Gabarro and Aurora Galli, to anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries over the past few weeks; however, Sorensen is confident his side have what it takes to turn their fortunes around.
“The group is quite resilient after all the injuries we had,” the Dane said on Friday. “It’s not ideal, but that’s the way it is in football. We can’t start not going 100% into everything we do, whether it’s a tackle or a duel. We have to do 100; otherwise, what’s the point? We have to have that mentality as a team, and the girls agree.”
Tickets for Everton v Chelsea are priced at £10 for adults, £5 for concessions and £2 for children. Fans who have already purchased tickets for this fixture will be contacted in due course. Kick-off times could change pending upcoming TV broadcast selections.
777 Partners have an agreement in place with the Friedkin Group that has allowed the latter’s purchase of Everton to go ahead.
That’s according to Genoa CEO, via Calcio Finanza, after he recently met with the club’s fans behind closed doors to discuss the ownership situation.
Blazquez is a representative for 777 Partners, who currently own Genoa and several other football clubs around the world.
That’s likely to come to an end sooner rather than later, though, with the American group beset by financial issues over the last year that have effectively brought their existence to an end.
The last few months have seen them selling off various businesses to help pay big debts and that will likely include the various football clubs they own.
Their issues also brought an end to their drawn out and ultimately unsuccessful attempts to purchase Everton, who they have also loaned money to help fund the completion of their stadium and to pay for running costs.
