Assistant coach Francis Jeffers says Everton’s Under-23s learned a valuable lesson as they were beaten by Leicester City in the Premier League Cup on Monday night.
Despite the 2-1 defeat, the young Blues finished second to the Foxes in Group F - with both sides progressing to the last 16 of the competition.
David Unsworth fielded a side combining experienced heads at Under-23 level and younger players making the step up from Under-18s, with the likes of Luke Garbutt and Beni Baningime playing alongside Anthony Gordon and Con Ouzounidis, who was making his first start for the Under-23s.