Inexplicably, Everton still remain outside the relegation zone but their safety barrier is now razor thin.
A potentially hugely-damaging 1-0 home loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers reduced the gap between them and the drop zone to mere goal difference.
The Blues have had something of a charmed life of late with Burnley missing various opportunities to leapfrog them in the table when Frank Lampard’s side were not playing – conceding late goals against both Leicester City and Brentford.
But there comes a point when Everton have to save themselves.
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Blues hoped their side might be able to rally and win two home games in the space of five days yet that was always going to be a big ask of a side who have now won just two of their last 20 Premier League games.
What shouldn’t be a big ask is for a team of their talent to claw themselves away from the drop zone.
Instead they now find themselves deeper in the mire than ever.
There were mitigating circumstances against Manchester City but Everton’s wretched form on the road – with sorry capitulations at Newcastle, Southampton and Tottenham – just intensifies the pressure on Goodison fixtures like this.
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The performance against Leeds United looks increasingly like an anomaly to the general pattern of this team’s form.
And for all the warm welcome Lampard has been show, there has been no ‘new manager bounce’ and a fifth Premier League defeat in six games under his stewardship has you wondering when they’ll stop the rot.
If Everton, who have taken just 22 points from 26 matches, are to survive this season it looks like it will be down to the absolute ineptitude of others rather than any sort of ‘Great Escape’ themselves at this stage.
