Football | Everton sack Marco Silva

Everton have sacked manager Marco Silva.

Silva has been dismissed after the club's 5-2 defeat to Liverpool in the Merseyside derby at Anfield on Sunday.

That defeat leaves the Toffees in the Premier League relegation zone, with Silva's team picking up just 14 points in their opening 15 league matches.

The Toffees finished eighth last season in Silva's first season at the helm, but have endured a miserable start to the 2019/20 campaign, and have won just one of their last six matches.

🔵 | Everton Football Club can confirm that manager Marco Silva has left the Club. #EFC pic.twitter.com/R2JqAMBdu2 — Everton (@Everton) December 5, 2019

Owner Farhad Moshiri and other board members arrived at the club's Finch Farm training ground for crunch talks on Thursday, and have now decided to part ways with Silva, who joined the club from Watford in May 2018.

42-year-old Silva leaves the club with Everton's lowest points-per-game average (1.28) in the Premier League since Walter Smith between July 1998 to March 2002.

Everton won 20 of their 54 league matches under the Portuguese manager, suffering 23 losses in that time.

The Merseyside club's 14-point tally this season in the Premier League is their joint-third worst in the competition after 15 matches and their worst since 2003-04.

Silva is the fifth Premier League manager to be sacked this season.

Former Everton manager David Moyes - who previously managed the club for 11 years - is the favourite to replace Silva on an interim basis.

The Toffees face a difficult run of fixtures.

They will host Chelsea at Goodison Park on Saturday, before facing Manchester United, Leicester City (Carabao Cup quarter-final) and Arsenal in their next three games.

More to follow...