A disastrous first half defensive collapse put the skids under Everton as they began their Europa League Group campaign with a crushing 3-0 defeat by Atalanta.
Toffees boss Ronald Koeman insisted he was taking the competition seriously – but his stars undermined him with a woeful opening 45 minutes which put the game out of their reach.
Serie A side Atalanta, playing their first European game in 26 years, had a ball running riot on the ground of their Italian rivals Sassuolo with their own ground 120 miles away under going refurbishment.
But it was Everton who were taken to pieces with defender Andrea Masiello opening the scoring with a close range 21 minute tap in.
A stunning strike by Alejandro Gomez made it 2-0 while Bryan Crisante burst through Everton's wide open defence to make 3-0 on the stroke of half time.
Everton only managed one shot on target all night – from Gylfi Sigurdsson – as bhell shocked boss Ronald Koeman saw his stars suffer a third straight defeat.
Disastrous defending costs Everton
The pre-match vibe in Reggio Emilia was that a competent Everton performance would be enough to see off European novices Atalanta.
But that turned into a wildly optimistic scenario as Everton's back line of Phil Jagielka, Michael Keane, Leighton Baines and Mason Holgate were ripped to pieces by the speed, strength and cleverness of Atalanta's attacking play.
Koeman prides himself on his team having a solid base. But after seeing Tottenham slash his team apart at Goodison park last weekend it was deja-vu for the Dutchman.
The immediate future doesn't look brilliant either. Next up on Sunday? Manchester United.
A learning curve for Calvert-Lewin
Everton youngster Dominic Calvert-Lewin is vying for status with fellow Merseyside whizz-kids and Kop rivals Alexander Trent-Arnold and Ben Woodburn.
But this was a night to forget for the 20-year-old who was lost in a shambolic Everton performance.
Calvert-Lewin's been deputised to try and help plug the gap left by Romelu Lukaku's departure.
But with Everton's season hitting the buffers at home and abroad the sensible thing would be to take him from the firing line.
With Everton light in attack that's not really an option for boss Ronald Koeman.
Hands on for Stekelenberg
Opportunities look like they'll be in short supply for back-up Everton goalkeeper Maarten Stekelenberg.
Having played in the first Europe League qualifier against Slovakian side Ruzomberok back in July the 34-year-old Dutchman hadn't figured until this trip to Italy.
With Jordan Pickford assuming the undisputed number one role at Goodison after his £25 million summer move from Sunderland, Stekelenberg is desperate to impress.
And despite conceding three times first half – one a worldy from Alejandro Gomez – it could have been a whole lot worse had the Dutchman not made a series of excellent saves to spare Everton a hammering.
January Targets
While Ronald Koeman might be looking to the transfer window again in January Atalanta stars Alejandro Gomez and Andrea Petagna will be wanted men back in the Premier League.
Tiny Argentinian playmaker Gomez is in his fourth season at Atalanta who held off AC Milan, Lazio and Roma to sign him.
And he showed his trickery would be an effective force in English football even though he's only five foot five inches.
Target man Petagne, only 22, was a handful all night for Everton's shambolic defence who couldn't deal with his movement and attacking threat.
At least Someone likes the Europa League
English clubs might sometimes turn their nose up at the Europa League but there was no questioning the commitment of excited Atalanta fans.
Even though this fixture was moved 120 miles from Atalanta's own ground in Bergamo to the Mapei Stadium in Reggio Emilia – home of Serie A rivals Sassuolo – while it undergoes refurbishment, fans came in force to support manager Gian Piero Gasperini and his stars.
This was Atalanta's first competitive game against an English side and their first European adventure in 26 years.
And their noisy fans made sure the atmosphere crackled turning the night into a party with the help of a brilliant show from their heroes.