Football: Everton slot six goals past Motherwell in pre-season friendly

Liverpool: English football club Everton continued their preparations for the new Premier League season with a 6-0 win over Scottish Premiership side Motherwell in a friendly at Goodison Park on Tuesday afternoon. A brace apiece by Beto and Neal Maupay, as well as goals for Jake O’Brien and Harrison Armstrong, ensured a dominant victory for the Blues.

Beto broke the deadlock on the 34-minute mark following a bright start, which included Iliman Ndiaye rattling the crossbar with a well-struck volley from Seamus Coleman’s cross, with the Portuguese striker receiving the ball inside the penalty area before brushing off a defender and rolling a low finish into the net at Sir Philip Carter Park Stand end.

The Blues then came flying out of the blocks for the second half, with three goals in the space of six minutes before the hour mark. O’Brien made it two goals in as many games when he thundered home from the corner of the six-yard box after Motherwell only managed to half-clear a corner from the right-hand side.

Young midfielder Armstrong, who replaced Jesper Lindstrøm as a half-time substitute, added a third, slotting in from 10 yards after Vitalii Mykolenko’s initial shot had been blocked. Maupay was next on the scoresheet as the Toffees continued to assert their dominance, pouncing on a loose ball after Ndiaye had been snuffed out inside the penalty area.

The French striker then notched another goal at the 73rd-minute marl, dispossessing the goalkeeper to tap home into an empty net after an intense press from Beto in the build-up. Beto completed the scoring in the closing stages, applying the finishing touch to Francis Okoronkwo’s cutback after a perfectly weighted pass from Armstrong in the build-up.

Everton will play their final pre-season friendly against the visiting Italian giants Roma on Saturday.