Five things we’ve learned about Everton in 2020/21 so far

Everton have enjoyed an incredible start to the 2020/21 season so far.

Although the season is very young, the Toffees currently sit top of the Premier League with four wins from four games, sitting alongside Aston Villa as one of just two teams with a 100% record so far.

To make things even sweeter, Carlo Ancelotti’s men have swept aside Salford City, Fleetwood Town and West Ham United to set up an EFL Cup quarter-final clash with Manchester United in December.

Of course, we’ve been here before. Evertonians, more than most, are very familiar with false dawns and while it has been nice to sit back and enjoy James Rodriguez, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Co dismantle everything put before them, caution must be advised — make no mistake, even off the back of a bizarre 7-2 defeat to Aston Villa, a Merseyside derby against reigning champions Liverpool is the real litmus test for this new-look royal blue outfit.

Still, with an international break now on the horizon, fans can fawn over seeing their side top the Premier League table — a sight all too rare in recent years.

With that in mind, it also feels like a nice time to take a look at what we’ve learned from this Everton side so far in 2020/21. Here are five things:

1. Calvert-Lewin is finally flourishing

Anyone who has watched Everton over the past few years has likely been tempted to pull their hair out thanks to Calvert-Lewin. Following this arrival from Sheffield United in 2016, the 23-year-old showcased all the attributes of a good physical presence but lacked the finishing and clinical edge of an elite centre-forward. Time and again, he frustrated with his finishing.

However, since the arrival of Ancelotti and, more specifically, the start of this season, something has changed.

No longer satisfied with merely being a hold-up man, or running the channels to chase down lost causes, Calvert-Lewin now stays between the posts and has become brilliantly instinctive, taking up great goalscoring positions and finishing chances ruthlessly.

Calvert-Lewin is level with Son Heung-min as the Premier League’s top goalscorer this season, while his nine across all competitions is more than any other player at a club in one of Europe’s top five leagues.

As a result, he’s now been called into Gareth Southgate’s senior England squad for the first time and having been written off multiple times over the years — admittedly by yours truly — it’s very satisfying to see and richly deserved.