Jordan Pickford 4

His grimace after Villa went 3-0 up said it all on a painful afternoon and while he couldn’t do much about the first or third goals, he was too gung-ho when catching Ollie Watkins in the incident that led to the penalty for the second, was booked before the kick could be taken and then went the right way for Douglas Luiz’s spot-kick but couldn’t keep it out.

Nathan Patterson 5

At least he provided some energy on what was a largely flat afternoon for Everton, he made what would have been a heroic clearance off the line to keep out Ollie Watkins’ goal-bound effort but referee Anthony Taylor pointed to the spot following Pickford’s challenge on the Villa striker and his team’s struggles ensured he was unable to push up in the manner he likes.

Ashley Young 4

Not the return the ex-Villa favourite would have been hoping for, he was determined to put on a good show against his former team-mates, producing a string of snappy tackles but the first goal came down his flank and it only got worse for his new side after that.

READ MORE: Everton handed a second big injury concern after Dominic Calvert-Lewin blow

READ MORE: Dominic Calvert-Lewin suffers new injury blow on Everton comeback

Michael Keane 2

Nightmare display as he was personally culpable for Villa’s third and fourth goals, failing to cut out the cross and allowing Leon Bailey to score a simple tap-in for the former and then allowing substitute Jhon Duran to get past him for the latter after earlier leaving John McGinn to get between him and Tarkowski for the first goal before the pair were also ball-watching in the build-up to the second and he was booked in first half stoppage time for bringing down Watkins.

James Tarkowski 3

Along with Keane he was caught out of position for McGinn’s goal as the Villa captain’s run was not tracked, there also appeared to be a breakdown in communication for the second as neither came and while he battled as always, this was too pedestrian.

Idrissa Gueye 6

Also returning to his former club, he was left fighting fires in the centre of the park for most of the first half, followed Keane into the book in stoppage time when he caught McGinn and was subsequently hooked at the interval.

Amadou Onana 5

While his hulking frame and sharp mind offer the prospect of him becoming one of the Premier League’s most-imposing figures, his neat touches and creative moments were fleeting and he needs to start imposing himself more on proceedings to lift this struggling side.

Abdoulaye Doucoure 4

Always lives up to Dyche’s mantra of the minimum requirement being maximum effort but for all his hard-running, putting in a shift trying to support his striker – whoever that was over the afternoon – little came off to reward his endeavours.

James Garner 4

Operating on the right wing again in the first half before switching into the centre, he opened things up with a couple of cross-field balls but no matter where he was deployed, was mostly kept on the back foot.

Alex Iwobi 6

Another injury victim early in the second half, he’d been Everton’s most-dangerous runner at Villa’s defence before the break but while he looked their most threatening outlet as the game progressed, he was forced into increasingly more defensive work before his enforced early exit.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin 6

Making his first competitive appearances since Everton’s last away game of last season at Wolverhampton Wanderers, the centre-forward added an extra dimension to the attack but suffered an early collision with Villa goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and after going down again later in the half, he left the field early.

SUBS

Arnaut Danjuma (on 38 for Calvert-Lewin) 7

Another chance off the bench for the on-loan Dutch international, he looked lively and forced Martinez into a save with a low shot from a tight angle before the break and kept going in difficult circumstances after the break.

Lewis Dobbin 6 (on 46 for Gueye)

Spirited outing in tough conditions for the rookie, starting off on the left wing before quickly switching to the right.

Neal Maupay 6 (on 50 for Iwobi)

Off the bench following Iwobi’s injury, he had a chance to pull one back but his shot was palmed away by Martinez.

Tyler Onyango (on 90 for Doucoure)

Stoppage time cameo.