Everton have offered former England captain David Beckham a chance to return to the Premier League on a short-term loan from the Los Angeles Galaxy during Major League Soccer's close season.
'We always knew it was going to be an important one playing against a quality side, but I think it affected us a little bit too much.
Wayne Rooney's Everton homecoming ended in a 1-0 win over Slovak side Ruzomberok with the former Manchester United striker having a quiet return to Goodison Park in the Europa League, third qualifying round, first-leg on Thursday.
Manchester United maintained their push for a top-four Premier League finish when they beat Everton 1-0 with a second-half goal by French striker Anthony Martial at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Under-pressure Everton manager Roberto Martinez enjoyed some respite as his struggling side won for the first time in eight league matches.
Everton and Tottenham Hotspur both missed the chance to move up to second place in the Premier League after they shared a battling 0-0 draw at Goodison Park on Sunday. The day's other game ended in a 1-0 win for Cardiff City over arch-rivals Swansea City in the first ever Welsh derby played in the English top flight.
Images from the English Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Aaron Ramsey scored a hat-trick on Saturday as Arsenal thrashed Everton 5-1 in the Premier League at the Emirates with a display of free-flowing football that the Gunners have sorely lacked away from home this season.
Liverpool's Premier League title aspirations will be under scrutiny again on Saturday when they make the short trip across Stanley Park to face city rivals Everton.
Charlton Athletic stayed bottom of the Premier League after coming from a goal down to draw 1-1 with Everton at The Valley on Saturday.
Two goals in a frantic last 12 minutes and a stoppage-time penalty save by Tim Howard gave Everton a barely deserved but desperately needed 2-2 home Premier League draw with Tottenham Hotspur on Sunday.
Everton manager David Moyes will not answer questions about his new appointment at Manchester United when he speaks to journalists at his regular Friday news briefing, the club said.
Ruthless Arsenal threw down the gauntlet in the Premier League title race with a 5-0 thrashing of London rivals Chelsea to roar three points clear at the top of the table on Tuesday.
Chelsea romped to a 4-1 home win over Everton in their FA Cup fourth round
Manchester City took another decisive step toward an unprecedented fourth successive Premier League title with a 4-0 demolition of Fulham.
While champions Chelsea beat their bogey team Charlton Athletic 2-1
The Everton manager is to sue his former protege Wayne Rooney over comments made in the 20-year-old's autobiography.
A summary of Sunday's action in the Premier League.
Manchester United crushed Derby County 4-1 away while Everton beat Aston Villa 3-1 at Goodison Park on Sunday to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup. United were pushed all the way by the Championship (second division) strugglers in the League Cup semi-finals last month but cruised home this time with goals by Nani, Darron Gibson, Cristiano Ronaldo and Danny Welbeck.
Two goals from late substitute Olivier Giroud and one apiece by Mesut Ozil and Mikel Arteta secured Arsenal's place in the FA Cup semi-finals with a 4-1 win against Everton at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday.
Everton have offered their teenage England striker Wayne Rooney a new five-year contract, describing it as the biggest in the Premier League club's history.
IMAGES from the soccer matches played across leagues on Friday
Manchester City moved four points clear of Arsenal atop the Premier League table with an 11th consecutive victory.
Roberto Martinez's appointment as manager of Everton was almost overlooked amidst the fall-out of the club's former boss David Moyes moving to Manchester United to replace Alex Ferguson.
Manchester United have enough in their armoury to cope with the loss of suspended striker Wayne Rooney, Everton manager Roberto Martinez warned his players on Friday ahead of this weekend's Premier League clash at Old Trafford.
The Arsenal striker, who was sidelined last month due to a groin injury, has been included in the Arsenal squad for the Everton game.
Everton coach David Moyes has backed Australia's bid to host the 2022 World Cup, but criticised the pitches mid-way through the English Premier League side's pre-season tour Down Under.
Javier Saviola and Oscar Cardozo scored two goals apiece and defender Luisao was also on target as Benfica thumped Everton 5-0 in the Europa League on Thursday.
A Romelu Lukaku hat-trick in a 4-1 win for Everton at Young Boys and a thrilling 3-3 draw between Celtic and Inter Milan.
Everton thwarted Tottenham Hotspur's hopes of moving up to second in the Premier League when the two teams battled to a 0-0 draw at Goodison Park on Sunday.
IMAGES from Premier League matches played on Saturday.
Manchester United captain Wayne Rooney has said he expects to make his first-team return from a knee ligament injury next month.
Liverpool took a giant step towards their first title in 24 years with a 3-2 win at a plucky Norwich City on Sunday, opening up a five point lead over second-placed Chelsea with three matches remaining.
Aston Villa moved back to fifth in the English Premier League with an astonishing 3-2 win over Everton on Sunday after a goal in the first minute and one from each side in stoppage time. In the day's other match, West Bromwich Albion failed to win for the ninth successive match and stayed bottom after being held to a 1-1 draw by Portsmouth at The Hawthorns.
Images from the EPL matches played across England on Saturday.
Everton chairman Bill Kenwright cut a resigned figure after meeting manager David Moyes late on Wednesday, admitting he could do little to prevent the Scot from making the seemingly inevitable move to Manchester United.