Everton Under-23s boss David Unsworth says his young side must “learn fast” after they were knocked out of the Premier League Cup by Brighton & Hove Albion on Saturday.
The young Blues went down 3-0 at the in-form Seagulls, who progress to the quarter-finals of the competition.
First-half goals from Jiri Skalak and Aaron Connolly put Albion two-up at the break and – although Everton rallied in the second half – Viktor Gyokeres struck three minutes from time to put the tie beyond the Toffees.
Brighton are now unbeaten in their last nine games in all competitions and Unsworth believes their experience told in the last-16 tie – Albion’s starting line-up had an average age of 20.