Aston Villa 2 Everton 1: Blues lose second straight game
Well, that’s two matches played, two defeats and a single goal scored by Everton. These are the bald facts after the opening couple of games of this Premier League season.
Maybe it’s too early to say it but I do feel that Everton cannot afford another defeat in their next match or it is going to be very difficult to turn this early losing momentum around.
Just like last weekend, the Toffees’ didn’t actually play badly this afternoon and were solid enough overall, although they did concede two goals.
And, again just as happened last Saturday against Chelsea, another Blues’ player suffered an injury as Abdoulaye Doucoure had to be substituted after pulling up with a problem.
There are no words left to describe the injury curse on this football club. I don’t know what else to say because it’s just completely inexplicable how many Everton players get injured.
That’s three starting players in just two games and I defy anyone to explain it because I can’t. At this rate the club will literally run out of players in a couple of months time!
Finally, once more the absence of pace and a genuine goal threat up front was abundantly clear in this lunchtime’s game.
Frank Lampard didn’t start his only recognised centre-forward Salomon Rondon, which was strange for me and again went with the front three that opened the campaign last weekend.
As against Chelsea, it didn’t work and exposed again the lack of attacking options in the squad. Given that though, one question I have to ask is why was a young forward like Lewis Dobbin sent out on loan this season?
He’s a talented and promising player with pace and goal-scoring ability who surely deserved a chance to show what he can offer the senior team, especially with the lack of alternatives?
Everton are being linked with it seems nearly every striker playing in some European league or another with claims of talks with this one and interest in another, but nothing concrete is happening.
Meanwhile other attacking players who could have been potentially signed like Emmanuel Dennis are now probably going elsewhere with the Watford man very likely to join Nottingham Forest, the Blues’ next opponents.
Without goals you obviously can’t win footbal matches. The club have to get this sorted out now and I really don’t see how the Toffees’ can go into another Premier League game without any tangible goal threat. But, unless there’s some movement very quickly this week that still looks likely.
One other notable thing was the debut of Amadou Onana. The young midfielder came on and was involved in Villa’s second goal after being dispossesed as he quickly learnt the pace and relentlessness of the Premier League.
But, he was also a pivotal figure driving forward with the ball as the Blues’ managed to find their first goal of the season. It was an own-goal though from former Toffees’ star Lucas Digne and it was scant consulation in truth.
While good players have been signed in this summer window and there is evidence of progress in terms of the team’s football, results are everything and Everton are already in seventeenth place and slipping down the table. Defeat next weekend against Forest already seems unthinkable.