Sean Dyche has stated that the statistics were finally on Everton’s side against Bournemouth.
Everton finally recorded their first Premier League win at Goodison Park of the season so far on Saturday. Sean Dyche’s side triumphed in a comfortable and convincing 3-0 win against Bournemouth.
Whilst the Cherries were somewhat hapless, the Merseyside outfit deserve credit for taking their chances, something they have failed to do on multiple other occasions this season.
James Garner, Jack Harrison, and Abdoulaye Doucoure were all on the scoresheet for Everton, and they might have had more, had Dominic Calvert-Lewin not been denied by the crossbar.
According to Fotmob, Everton recorded 2.49 expected goals (xG) against Bournemouth. Meanwhile, the south coast club could muster up just 0.69 xG.
In several previous matches so far this season, Dyche’s team have created plenty of good goalscoring opportunities and failed to convert them. This time around, though, Everton found their clinical edge and it made all the difference.
This shows that Dyche has had his team heading in the right direction in recent weeks. His tactical setups and formula for success were having the desired effect, but the final touch was lacking. The coach could be forgiven for feeling somewhat let down by some of his forwards in recent weeks, but his side finally found its shooting boots on Saturday.
Dyche delighted by statistical vindication
The manager will now be relieved to see the stats backed up by a win. Speaking to BBC Sport after the match, he said, “a dominant performance and a performance when at last the xG that I’ve been talking about, it pays us back. I said to the players you’ve got to keep doing it, the more you statistically do them things in games, it will pay you back.”
“Eventually it will pay you back, but of course, you’ve still got players who have to take your chances and they did today.”
Consistency is now the test for Everton. They need to be able to reliably convert their goalscoring opportunities. If they can become more prolific on an ongoing basis then they will soon find themselves well clear of any looming relegation threat.
Dyche will see this win against Bournemouth as statical vindication for his work so far, a much-needed confidence boost for his team, and a platform for his Everton side to build on
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