Sunderland vs Everton: Ronald Koeman to hold talks with Ross Barkley after half-time substitution
Barkley repeatedly gave possession away and led to his withdrawal at the break, with Everton noticebly improving in the second half
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Your support makes all the difference.Everton boss Ronald Koeman will sit down with England international Ross Barkley in a bid to help him rediscover his best form.
Koeman substituted the 22-year-old midfielder at half-time in his side's 3-0 Premier League victory at Sunderland on Monday evening after losing patience with him.
Coming just weeks after he was left out of the England squad by new manager Sam Allardyce, that will have come as a blow to Barkley - but the Dutchman has vowed to point him in the right direction once again as he tries to get the best out of him.
Asked why he replaced Barkley at the break, Koeman said: "Because he didn't show the level I expect.
"I know it's always difficult for the manager because he was not selected for the national team and you take the player off after 45 minutes.
"But I had to do something. He lost too many balls. But I will speak to Ross tomorrow and that's no problem."
If Koeman was disappointed with Everton's opening 45 minutes at the Stadium if Light, he was delighted with what he saw after the break as striker Romelu Lukaku ended his 11-game wait for a league goal by plundering a hat-trick inside 11 minutes.
The Belgium international later admitted he needed to be more clinical in front of goal, and his manager was happy with the player's self-awareness.
Koeman said: "It's not bad to be critical of yourself. He knows he can improve. He is 23 years old and we work a lot with him, but also with the rest of the strikers."
In contrast, Sunderland have just one point from their opening four games and are above rock-bottom Stoke only on goal difference.
Manager David Moyes said: "I hoped we cold get some points on the board and to be fair, apart from tonight, we haven't really been out of any games.
"Tonight after 65 minutes, we were probably out of the game. But the other games, we have been in, we have always had a chance of getting a point or three points.
"But tonight after we lost the second goal certainly, there was no chance, so that was the disappointing thing tonight."
PA
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