Match Report Everton's elimination from the Europa League was confirmed as they went down 3-0 in Lyon to three goals scored in the last half hour. It was bitterly ironic for David Unsworth that his men had been having the better of the second half and had come very close to breaking the deadlock when Lyon opened the scoring at the other end. Bertrand Traore set the French side on their way before Houssem Aouar doubled the lead and, after Morgan Schneiderlin was sent off, Memphis Depay finished Everton off with a headed third that condemned the Blues to yet another defeat. Unsworth named a side mixed with youth and experience but one noticeably absent a striker in the starting XI. Ademola Lookman was, arguably, the most attack-minded of an XI that also included Aaron Lennon but Gylfi Sigurdsson was handed the striker's role, one he looked ill-equipped to fulfil. Nikola Vlasic, seemingly overlooked at the weekend, was on the bench alongside Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Kevin Mirallas while Sandro Ramirez, another potential option to play up front was once again ignored. Cuco Martina deputised at left back again in the absence of Leighton Baines who didn't travel while Mason Holgate partnered captain Ashley Williams at centre-half. Martina picked up an early booking for dragging Cornet down as Lyon began probing down the flanks but the Blues also started to settle, with Lookman in particular looking lively. The teenager was constantly looking to drive the team forward but a lack of support would be a regular feature of Everton's game. Nevertheless, good control by Lennon in the 17th minute gave Sigurdsson a half chance but his shot was charged down. The best chance thus far fell the home side's way in the 23rd minute when a dangerous cross found Bertrand Traore whose flicked header was well saved by Pickford and the rebound was fizzed across goal by Mendy. Lyon kept the pressure up, with Rafael in particular causing problems down the flank and one of his crosses was fired over the bar from a central position. Lennon's foul on Fekir set Depay up for a direct free-kick attempt from 25 yards but Pickford was equal to it, pushing the ball over his goal. An awkward fall for Martina in aftermath left him down and needing treatment, however, and he had to eventually be stretchered off with a neck brace to be replaced by Muhamed Besic. Marcelo out-muscled Holgate to meet a corner just before the 45 minutes were up but his header glanced wide before seven additional minutes of stoppage time were indicated by the fourth official. Traore tested Pickford again with a strong drive but the 'keeper parried it away as Everton finished the first period penned into their own half. Unsworth's team came out from the break immediately on the front foot, though, and had a great chance when Lennon cut the ball back for Gueye but he couldn't beat the keeper or the defender on the line. It was a golden opportunity that might have been rewarded with a surer finish from the Senegalese midfielder. Pickford made another low save and Fekir went down in the area a few minutes later but his appeals for a free kick were waved away by the referee. More great work by Lookman set up another goos chance just before the hour mark. He drove to the byline but Sigurdsson couldn't flick home at the near post. Unsworth's second change in personnel was by choice, with Calvert-Lewin coming on for Gueye while Fekir came off for Lyon with Aouar being introduced. At that point, with the Blues not only holding their own but looking the more threatening, there was a sense that perhaps they could sneak a victory now that a recognised striker was on the pitch. As if to emphasise the notion, Sigurdsson bounced a good shot inches wide from the edge of the box but seconds later it was 1-0 to Lyon. Schneiderlin missed a sliding tackle in front of the back four and Traore seized on a fortunate ricochet, driving wide of Pickford to slot home with 68 minutes gone. Substitute Mariano Diaz flashed a shot narrowly wide just afterwards but it was only another few minutes when Depay picked up a rebound from Pickford's save and he passed to Aouar who slotted into the far corner to make it 2-0. Sigurdsson whipped a dangerous free kick that just missed the far post and two Blues players couldn't add a touch to guide it over the line at the other end before Schneiderlin's lack of discipline earned him an early bath. The Frenchman, already on a yellow card for dissent, received his marching orders for a late and unnecessarily foul, realistically ending any hope of an unlikely comeback from the away side. Depay increased the misery three minutes from time when he headed powerfully past Pickford and that was the final nail in Everton's Europa League coffin. Three successive defeats under the caretaker manager can be added to the two suffered before that under Ronald Koeman to round out a miserable sequence of results that dramatically underscore the problems afflicting the team. Focus now shifts to the Premier League and the visit on Sunday of Watford, a fixture that takes on enormous importance, not only for Unsworth's hopes of earning the manager's role full-time but for Everton and the players' confidence. Kick-off: 6pm, Thursday, 2 November 2017 Lyon: Lopes, Mendy, Diakhaby, Marcelo, Rafael [Y:78'], N'Dombele (77' Ferri), Tousart, Memphis, Fekir (62' Aouar [Y:85'], Cornet; Traore (70' Mariano).Subs: Morel, Marçal, Tete, Gorgelin. Everton: Pickford, Kenny, Holgate, Williams, Martina [Y:7'] (42' Besic), Schneiderlin [Y:57';YR:80'], Baningime, Gueye (61' Calvert-Lewin), Lennon (71' Vlasic), Sigurdsson, Lookman.Subs not used: Robles, Feeney, Klaassen, Mirallas. Referee: Orel Grinfeld Attendance: 48,103 Lyndon Lloyd top Match Preview Everton travel to Lyon for their latest Europa League Group E fixture in what is effectively a win-or-bust scenario for the club. Having lost two of their first three group games, the Blues' chances of progressing to the knockout rounds largely rest on their ability to come up with a victory in what is, on paper, their toughest assignment of the competition thus far. For David Unsworth, it's a chance to demonstrate to the Everton board that he can do better in charge of the first team than was the case on Sunday at Leicester City where his side went down meekly to a 2-0 defeat. The 44-year-old former defender had only been in his caretaker role for six days at that point but now, with 11 days in the hot-seat, he will be hoping be in a better position to rally his troops into a better display. As Unsworth is no doubt discovering, the Everton job comes with a number of challenges, not least the lack of a recognised, experienced striker to provide a focal point up front but also age and a lack of pace at the back. Phil Jagielka, Ashley Williams and Leighton Baines's combined age of 100 was exposed at the King Power Stadium at the weekend and 18-year-old Morgan Feeney's promotion to the first team training this week was an indication that the stand-in boss has recognised the need for more youthful legs in defence and to give the older heads a break. Whether Feeney will follow fellow teenager Beni Baningime in going straight into the starting line-up remains to be seen but Jagielka and Baines haven't travelled to France. Mason Holgate, 20, is also a candidate at centre-half but he was overlooked in that role for the past few weeks by Ronald Koeman who preferred to use him as a right back. Further forward, with Rooney also staying behind, some other frequent question marks remain: is Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Oumar Niasse or Sandro Ramirez a better option to lead the line; should Aaron Lennon's experience trump the energy and inventiveness of Nikola Vlasic or Ademola Lookman; and what of Kevin Mirallas, arguably the best attacking player in a grey shirt in the first half on Sunday but sacrificed at half-time for the manager's substitutions? With a vital game against Watford looming this coming Sunday and Everton a long shot to qualify from their Europa League group, Unsworth may feel he is on a hiding to nothing in this fixture. That could influence his team selection and might see his line-up skew younger, allowing some of those greener players to press their claims for more regular action. The scenario for the Blues is fairly simple: win, and they are right back in the qualification mix and with the additional factor of a morale-boosting win under the belts; lose or draw and it's more or less kiss goodbye to the Europa League and focus on the Premier League. Kick-off: 6pm, Thursday 2nd November, 2017 Lyndon Lloyd top * Unfortunately, we cannot control other sites' content policies and therefore cannot guarantee that links to external reports will remain active.