Everton, on a day when a win would have propelled them up the table, instead suffered one of their worst losses of the season at home to Fulham.
Welcoming Marco Silva's struggling outfit to Goodison Park, who were without Aleksandar Mitrovic due to his suspension, it seemed like the stars might align for the Toffees to climb the Premier League with a result. After all, with the tumultuous run-in they are set to face, it marked one of their easier games on paper.
However, slow starts in each half consigned them to an embarrassing 3-1 defeat, where the visitors admittedly played them off the park.
A catalogue of errors resulted in the Cottagers first, but that seemed to spark the hosts into life, culminating in Dwight McNeil's fine equaliser. Sean Dyche's men would press on further, seeking to take advantage of their superiority, but would only go in at the break with the scores level.
Golden chances had been spurned, and it always felt like this would come back to haunt them.
That was almost instantly the case, when Harry Wilson was able to power home from Willian's cutback to reinstate their lead, which they would not relinquish for a second time. Dan James added another with 20 minutes to go, and the atmosphere on Merseyside quickly turned toxic.
A fury and vitriol quickly descended upon the ground, aimed at those on the field who had caused such a mess. Whilst few covered themselves in any kind of glory, Demarai Gray was a standout passenger.
How did Demarai Gray play vs Fulham?
Returning to his preferred flank with the introduction of Neal Maupay, it was expected that the £25k-per-week wide man would play a key role in any offensive success the hosts might have enjoyed.
However, it quickly became clear that this was not to be the case.
An anonymous 90 minutes on the pitch culminated in just 40 touches, of which goalkeeper Jordan Pickford actually recorded more (45).
Such a distinct lack of involvement unsurprisingly led to dwindling influence on the game, as the 26-year-old completed zero successful crosses, recorded no key passes and even missed a big chance, via Sofascore. A torrid day at the office for the attacking asset who offered no offensive input.
Writer Peter Guy put it succinctly when summing up Gray's contribution yesterday, as he wrote on Twitter that he "never turned up".
What makes it even more frustrating is the lack of work rate from the Englishman, who would lose four of the whopping 17 duels he competed in. Dyche would likely excuse struggles up front, but this kind of work-shy behaviour cannot be allowed to stand.
Whilst most in Royal Blue let down the club yesterday, with his 6.0 rating the joint-worst of anyone on the pitch, few disappointed as heavily as the former Leicester City man.
