Everton certainly had their fair share of chances against Manchester United on Sunday.
Goals from Alejandro Garnacho and Anthony Martial, either side of a Marcus Rashford penalty, condemned Everton to a 3-0 defeat at Goodison Park on Sunday evening.
The Toffees went behind early by virtue of Garnacho’s spectacular overhead kick, which Jordan Pickford had no chance of doing anything about. However, the story of the rest of the match may have been very different had the hosts been able to do better with any one of the number of first half chances they created.
For an extended spell before the break, the Red Devils were under real pressure. Sean Dyche’s side were playing with pace and intent, and were being rewarded for their efforts with goalscoring opportunities.
Poor finishing costs Everton again
Idrissa Gana Gueye, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Abdoulaye Doucoure, and Dwight McNeil all had very presentable chances that ultimately went begging. This was not a case of Andre Onana proving impossible to beat, either, but rather a case of wasteful and erratic finishing. Not for the first time, a lack of composure and clinical instincts at the crucial moment cost the Merseyside outfit.
Dyche will be hugely frustrated by this, as there was a real opportunity for Everton to take something from this match, if they had only been able to capitalise when the momentum of the game was flowing in their favour.
The poor quality of the finishing on display for Everton even prompted journalist Adam Bate, reporting from Goodison Park, to state, “Everton so wasteful. Barely believable that the equaliser has not yet come,” as quoted by the Sky Sports (26/11/2023, 17:15) live match text commentary.
This is certainly an area of their game that Everton need to improve, even if there have been signs of the team becoming more efficient in recent weeks.
Sean Dyche has reasons for optimism
However, there are also positives for Dyche to take. He will be delighted that his side were able to create as many clear cut opportunities as they did against Manchester United. The Toffees exhibited some slick passing moves and smart movement in order to engineer these openings. The manager will trust that if they keep doing that on a regular basis, plenty of goals will surely follow.
Given the recent disappointment suffered by the club, with their Premier League points deduction, Dyche will have been proud to see his team attack this game and play with belief. Whilst the result was a disappointing one for Everton fans, there is still plenty of fight in this squad.
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