Sunderland team for the Carabao Cup clash with Everton had more total appearances for the Toffees than the actual Merseyside XI
Black Cats stars including Jack Rodwell meant Wearsiders had eight more Everton games under their belt than the Toffees
EVERTON finally found some form when they put three past hapless Sunderland in the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
Ronald Koeman's Toffees ran rampant at Goodison Park, as youngster Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored twice and Oumar Niasse added a late third to progress to the fourth round.
But in a bizarre quirk, the Sunderland XI had a larger total appearances for Everton than Everton themselves.
Incredibly, the Black Cats line-up could boast 238 appearances for the Merseyside squad... while the Toffees just 230.
It's testament not only to how many players Sunderland have poached from Everton, but also just how large an overhaul the Premier League squad have undertaken of late.
In fact, of the Toffees XI, Muhamed Besic had the most games under his belt for the club, with just 53 - just ahead of Ashley Williams in second with 48.
But with new faces such as Jonjoe Kenny, Michael Keane, Davy Klaassen, Sandro and Nikola Vlasic all yet to reach double-figures, they could only reach a combined total of 230 Everton appearances.
Bizarrely, Sunderland's squad have picked up eight more Toffees games on 238.
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That's thanks in no small part to ex-Goodison Park youngster Jack Rodwell, who played 109 times for the Merseysiders before joining Manchester City.
Elsewhere, Darron Gibson played 69 times for Everton before leaving the club, while James Vaughan picked up a further 60 Toffees games.
Even so, despite the Cats' inside-knowledge, they still looked way off the pace as Calvert-Lewin, 20, put them to sword back on their old stomping ground.
