David Unsworth's hopes of taking the Everton manager's job permanently suffered a severe blow as the Blues were thrashed 5-1 by Atalanta in the Europa League.
A much-changed Everton team made a relatively bright start to the match, but it was visitors who opened scoring with the first real opportunity of the game as Bryan Cristante tapped-home.
Joel Robles then saved Alejandro Gomez's penalty, before 22-year-old midfielder Cristante doubled his side's lead on the hour mark from a corner. Sandro halved the deficit with a sweet low strike, but a late trio of goals from Robin Gosens and Andreas Cornelius (2), rubbed further salt in the wounds.
Here's what we learned from the Goodison Park clash.
1. Everton fans vote with their feet after torrid start to season
It's not been a good week for Everton. Rebuffed by Watford in their pursuit of Marco Silva, the managerless Blues have also seen top scorer Oumar Niasse banned for two-games and been on the receiving end of a UEFA fine over the past seven days.
Dissent- particularly in relation to the ongoing managerial situation- is growing, and this, as expected, was reflected in the attendance at Goodison on Thursday evening. Contracts may finally have been signed to acquire the Bramley-Moore Dock site for a new stadium earlier in the day, but even that was not enough to draw in a healthy crowd for the dead rubber against Atalanta.
A crowd close to 17,000 took in the Blues' final Europa League home game- a figure that perfectly reflects the disenchantment felt by supporters at this moment in time.
It made for a low-key atmosphere at Goodison, and gave the match a decidedly pre-season feel. The lax approach was also reflected in the team sheet, with caretaker manager David Unsworth prioritising the weekend trip to Southampton by making nine changes to the team that drew with Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The lethargic approach was reflected on the pitch, where the Blues were rightly handed a pummelling by the classy Serie A outfit.
2. Klaassen fluffs big chance as Sandro offers mixed display
Two for whom Thursday's match did matter, however, were Davy Klaassen and Sandro Ramirez.
The pair of summer signings have been on the fringes in recent months, mustering just the occasional substitute appearance between them- but with little riding on the outcome of the dead rubber, were at least afforded an additional chance to stake their claims at Goodison.
Once again, though, the pair fluffed their lines.
Featuring for the first time under Unsworth, Klaassen underwhelmed in an unfamiliar left-sided role. Full of hunger and effort, the Dutchman nevertheless lacked the pace or power to truly make an impression against the physical visitors. As it stands, games just bypass the former Ajax midfielder too easily- and so it's easy to see why he'd up to now failed to make an appearance under the Blues' caretaker manager.
On this evidence, it would not be a surprise to see Klaassen drop out of contention once again over the coming weeks.
Sandro, too, looked short of confidence during an admittedly more eventful night at the office. Unsure of his touch and sloppy in possession, the Spaniard also wasted a glorious chance to level proceedings when he blazed over with the goal at his mercy. The feeling lingers that an altogether more assured finisher would have settled himself before taking aim.
Not deterred by his earlier miss, however, the ex-Malaga attacker did eventually notch his first competitive goal for the Blues with a smartly-taken 71st minute effort. It was the type of strike La Liga audiences came to expect from a currently unfulfilled talent.
The challenge now is to show with increasing regularity if he is revive his Everton career- even if it does appear to be an uphill struggle.
3. Managerial impasse threatens Everton's Premier League status
A month since Ronald Koeman's sacking, and Everton seem no closer to finding a replacement.
The risk is that uncertainty off the pitch affects results on it, as was the case on Thursday evening. Indeed, as the emphatic scoreline suggests, a much-changed Everton side offering up a display devoid of inspiration or leadership.
A fast start quickly fizzled out as Atalanta pinpointed areas of weakness in the hosts' defence, while there was considerable confusion over the positioning of the likes of Mirallas and Rooney. Systemic flaws once again rearing their ugly head.
Unsworth has, at least, stabilised matters in the league thanks to four points from games against Watford and Crystal Palace, yet a dearth of top level managerial experience and tactical naivety holds both himself and the club back. It certainly did here. Gaps appeared all too often- particularly in defence.
Marco Silva may not be an achievable target, but it's time for Everton to find a permanent solution once and for all. Their very survival in the top-flight may well depend on it.
