After a disappointing finish at the 11th position last season, Everton started quite brilliantly this season. After a 1-1 draw against the resilient Tottenham Hotspur on the opening day of the season, Everton went on a four-match winning streak against the likes of West Brom, Stoke City, Sunderland, and Middlesbrough.
It felt like Ronald Koeman’s men looked finally set for a top four finish which was very much possible now with Tottenham and Leicester achieving the feat last season. But then they saw a shock defeat at Bournemouth and the Toffees have since then unable to recover their knack.
After scoring 9 goals in the opening 5 games, Everton were expected to score their way out of every game no matter how shambolic their defence was. But that was realistically not going to happen. They had a disciplined performance against Crystal Palace and Pepe Guardiola’s mighty City, where they went to the Etihad Stadium and salvaged a point.
It was followed by a defeat to Burnley, which was not that shocking considering they had already did that to Liverpool and later kept United at bay at Old Trafford.
Weakness
Everton’s defence against Chelsea was disastrous. There is no doubt Chelsea are really thriving under Conte but the Blues could no way have managed 5 goals if the back line had not left major gaps behind them.
It was very surprising considering that Everton came to the match on the back of a 2-0 win against West Ham United.
Everton have conceded 13 goals in 11 games till now and they had let in only 3 games in the opening 5 games. The back line of Coleman, Jagielka, Williams, Oviedo and Coleman- although looks great on paper with all proven defenders in the league, have failed to play together.
Coleman had been a better performer among them with 1 goal and 1 man of the match, but he has been poor in the aerial duels winning only 0.5 percent on average. While Jagielka has shown ability in that area, his passing has been poor. His ability to hold the ball has not been up there.
The new recruit from Swansea City, Ashley Williams started the league after an inspiring tournament at the Euros. Although he has shown composure in both passing and in aerial duels, he lacks the decision-making of a centre-back. Baines has only appeared 5 games this season followed by a slight knock. Bryan Oviedo has replaced him in that position since but has struggled to impress the boss.
Strength
There is no doubt that Everton’s attack is their only strength this season. It is a treat to watch when they are on the roll. Romelu Lukaku has completed 50 goals for the club and the Belgian is leading with 7 goals and 3 assists already. Ross Barkley is continuing his sparkling performance from last season and was unstoppable against West Ham United.
Bolasie has been a constant threat from the wings and Gareth Barry has been an ideal midfield leader. But the attack would be toothless with the defence leaking.
