Un hat-trick de Barry hunde a Preston en la paliza de la Carabao Cup

Everton arrived at Deepdale and dismantled Preston North End with ruthless efficiency, winning 0-4 to advance comfortably through the Carabao Cup second round. The visitors dominated from start to finish, leaving the home crowd with little to celebrate and their team facing difficult questions about their defensive frailty in a competition where such vulnerabilities cannot be hidden.

Tyreece Barry broke the deadlock in the 25th minute to set Everton on their way. The away side's control only intensified after that opener, with Preston offering minimal resistance in attack and showing dangerous gaps at the back. Barry struck again in the 59th minute to make it 0-2, extending Everton's advantage after the interval before compounding Preston's misery with a third goal in the 70th minute. Ben Johnson added a fourth in the 72nd minute to seal a rout that rendered the closing stages academic.

The second half belonged entirely to Everton. Preston entered the break trailing to Barry's first-half strike but emerged from the dressing room with no answer to their visitors' intensity. Instead of tightening their shape and fighting back, the home side capitulated, conceding three goals in 13 minutes between the 59th and 72nd minute marks. That collapse transformed a difficult position into a humiliating one.

Preston created few chances of substance throughout and their midfield struggled to gain any foothold in proceedings. Everton, by contrast, moved the ball with purpose and clarity, exposing the home defence's positioning repeatedly and finding space in dangerous areas with ease. The gulf in quality proved stark, with the visitors controlling possession and dictating tempo without ever needing to shift through the gears beyond cruising speed.

Both sides finished the match without incident, with no red cards or significant disciplinary concerns altering the contest's shape. Preston's players saw out the closing stages with professionalism if not pride, while Everton managed the game sensibly once the outcome had become inevitable. The visitors' comfortable passage through set up a third-round tie while Preston faced the unwelcome task of analysing how their cup defence had collapsed so completely.

Everton's display will have pleased Sean Dyche ahead of their Premier League campaign, demonstrating efficiency and clinical finishing on the road. Preston, meanwhile, must regroup quickly and rediscover their form in the league, where such defensive lapses would prove equally costly. The Carabao Cup has already delivered its verdict on both teams, and the championship phase awaits them both with fresh demands.