Marco Silva says Everton have a duty to respond to Friday’s defeat at Aston Villa with two productive performances in the next seven days.

The Blues had the better of the chances and more of the ball than Villa but were undone by a lack of punch in their opponents’ box.

Everton’s loss in the Midlands was their first in seven Premier League matches - a run dating back to a defeat by Fulham in April.

Silva’s side hit back from that result four months ago – their only reverse in the season’s final eight games – by walloping Manchester United 4-0.

FINAL CHANCE - HAVE YOUR SAY ON EVERTON'S PROPOSED STADIUM PLANS NOW

Everton drew their opening game this term at Crystal Palace and will be targeting back-to-back home victories when Wolverhampton Wanderers visit Goodison Park next Sunday following last week’s 1-0 win over Watford.

Before that meeting with Wolves, Everton go to upwardly mobile League One team Lincoln City for a Carabao Cup second-round tie.

“It is our obligation to react the right way,” Silva told evertontv.

“We started working on Saturday morning, analysing this game [against Villa] and preparing for the next one.

“We will speak about Friday’s game and give the right feedback to the players.

“Then we have to prepare for an important game against Lincoln.

“We have two games, on Wednesday and Sunday, and we have to do everything we can to achieve the results we want.

“The players’ attitude has been good but it is up to us to start scoring now. We have created a lot of clear chances in our first two away matches but not taken them.

“We know the performance [at Villa] was not the best. It is difficult when you lose to say the performance was good.

“Just to have possession is nothing – but we had the possession and created three clear chances.”

Everton were close to scoring through Lucas Digne and Dominic Calvert-Lewin either side of striker Wesley’s opening goal for Villa following a quickly taken free-kick.

Silva sent on Alex Iwobi for an Everton debut as the Blues stepped up their hunt for an equaliser after the restart – the former Arsenal man introduced with Moise Kean around the hour mark and followed on to the field 15 minutes later by Theo Walcott.

Iwobi played down the left, with Kean partnering Calvert-Lewin in a new-look two-man forward line. And the two substitutes instantly injected more thrust into the Blues’ offensive play.

Kean teed up Walcott for a presentable chance shortly after the mobile Iwobi had seen a sharp, low drive come back off the foot of a post.

Everton’s hopes of claiming the point manager Silva felt his side’s play merited went up in smoke in the final minutes of stoppage time when Anwar El Ghazi broke to shoot beyond Jordan Pickford.

“When you change and put new players on, you expect a reaction and for them to show their quality,” added Silva.

“We changed our formation and expected a reaction.

“We played with two strikers and wanted a fresh player on the left to create more problems for their right back.

“We started to create more problems and hit the post and had a chance for Theo.

“It is a lesson for us, because in football you cannot switch off. We did in one moment in the first half and they scored.

“We had started well… creating some dangerous moments, and the game was under control.

“It was frustrating for us but we have to react on Wednesday.”