Brian Sorensen blamed Everton’s poor start to the game for their disappointing 4-2 Continental League Cup defeat away to Manchester United on Wednesday night.   

The hosts raced into a 3-0 lead inside 20 minutes, handing the Toffees a huge mountain to climb for the remainder of the match.   

Jess Park did pull a goal back for Sorensen’s side in the first half but a fourth for United soon after put the result beyond doubt.   

The Blues grabbed a further consolation strike late in stoppage time through Karen Holmgaard, but the same proved too little too late.   

“I think we forgot to start the game. The first five to seven minutes is catastrophic,” Sorensen told evertontv.  

“We were not there in anything. The first four times they attack, they score four goals, and if we look at ourselves, that’s just not good enough. Especially the things leading up to the two first goals.  

“We get the goal to come back and I think ‘okay now we have [a chance]’, then a set-piece, we are not aware of what’s happening, and then it’s 4-1.”  

There was an increased intensity to Everton's play in the second period, and the Blues looked much more like the side who battled valiantly in the tight 1-0 defeat away to Arsenal just a few days earlier.   

“I speak a little louder than normal at half-time and I think we showed in the second half that we are a good team that plays good football.  

“I am happy with how we reacted but disappointed of course with the start.  

“I think overall in the second half, it’s how we want to look, we had the tactical flexibility going between 3-4-3 and 4-3-3, that looked good, we have worked on that.   

“But we can’t start a game like that and expect to win.”  

Sorensen and his team will have to dust themselves off quickly as they travel to Brighton & Hove Albion this Sunday in the Barclays Women’s Super League (2pm GMT).   

Looking ahead to that clash, Sorensen said: “Hopefully we will motivate ourselves after what we displayed in the first half here. We have to be much better, I have just told them that now.   

"We need to show what we did in the second half, but show that from the beginning and with even more urgency in what we want to do. I can’t see how they can beat us if we play like that.   

"But if we decide to step out like we did in the first half, then everybody has a chance of beating us.”