Héctor Yuste earns 10-man Apollon Limassol draw with sluggish Everton

• Everton 2-2 Apollon Limassol
• Rooney 21, Vlasic 66; Sardinero 12, Yuste 88

Everton navigated an arduous route into the Europa League group stage but are heading towards a damaging early exit. An 88th minute header from Héctor Yuste gave 10-man Apollon Limassol a merited draw at Goodison Park and left Ronald Koeman’s team winless in Group E.

A gift for Wayne Rooney and a first Everton goal for Nikola Vlasic had appeared to give Koeman the win he desperately needed having been soundly beaten in the opening game at Atalanta. But Yuste’s header from a free-kick, moments after Valentin Roberge had been sent off for the visitors, rescued a point for the lowest-ranked side in Everton’s section. Slow, passive performances are becoming a feature of Everton’s season under Koeman and this was another.

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