As managers’ first games go, this was not too shabby.
A goal every four minutes or so, four players scoring hat-tricks – and the sun was even shining.
Playing under Marco Silva for the first time, Everton showed no mercy against ATV Irdning, thumping the Austrian minnows 22-0.
Kevin Mirallas struck a hat-trick in the first seven minutes of the second half before adding two more, strikers Cenk Tosun and Oumar Niasse hit four apiece, and Ademola Lookman netted a first-half hat-trick.
The Toffees were 10-0 up by the break but added another dozen goals to get their pre-season off to an eye-catching start just days after landing in the Alpine region of Irdning for a training camp.
Not that they needed it but Everton were offered a helping hand by a spectacular own goal – Sebastian Schmidt lobbing his own goalkeeper to make it 19-0, while the 20th came when Nikola Vlasic was left with an open goal.
Silva’s side return to the UK to face Bury on Wednesday and will expect a tougher test than they were given by a team who play at the fifth level of Austrian football.
bbc.com
