Everton created enough chances to have walked away from yesterday’s match with Aston Villa with a point or three, yet their profligacy, a tale as old as time, let them down.
It’s become quite a concerning trend under Sean Dyche‘s reign, where supreme solidity was almost always let down by an inability to finish.
However, if that defensive prowess has also gone amiss, then there is little for the Toffees to be excited about.
Both issues reared their ugly heads yesterday at Villa Park.
Alan Shearer reacts to Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s performance vs Aston Villa
Speaking on BBC’s Match of the Day just last night, Alan Shearer was unsurprisingly critical when reviewing Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
After all, despite the striker actually playing well, scoring his side’s second whilst holding the ball up when called upon, there were two golden chances that fell to the Englishman, both of which went begging.
They were at crucial junctures in the match too, and had a huge impact on the end result.
But, it was his first one, which saw him dawdle whilst steaming through on goal, that frustrated Shearer more than most.
He claimed: ‘It was without doubt a key moment. It was to go 3-1 up this was, and it was an absolute sitter.
‘He times his run, Calvert-Lewin, to perfection, but he just doesn’t open himself up. When the keeper is staring you down, the keeper wins the battle because he has got to try and delay him for as long as possible to try and get help, to try and get one of his defenders back.
‘Now Calvert-Lewin is not aware of what’s around him, he should be, because I said he made the run, he should know that the defenders are coming back. And the keeper makes himself big and he just delays him enough for Konsa to get back in there. It’s an awful miss.’
Dominic Calvert-Lewin should have had a hat trick vs Aston Villa
With these chances listed, it’s fair to say that Calvert-Lewin should have left Villa Park with the match ball and hopefully a point or three for his team.
After all, having taken his first well by heading home from close range, the two that he would later squander were arguably even easier chances, completely through on goal with almost nobody around him.
The first, which left Shearer flummoxed, saw him take all the time in the world before finally deciding to try and round Emiliano Martinez. This allowed Ezri Konsa to scramble back and poke the ball behind for a corner.
Then, the second saw him at least take his shot, but offered little to no precision as he slammed it off the crossbar.
These are chances Everton simply have to take if they are to claim results against sides like Aston Villa.
Receive a digest of our best Everton content each week direct to your mailbox
