Scoring goals has been Everton’s biggest weakness all season and that continued in the goalless draw to Burnley.
Saturday’s 0-0 draw to Burnley marked the halfway point in the 2025/26 season, and Everton have only scored 18 goals so far in the campaign.
Striker Beto had another game to forget, which reinforces the need for Everton to sign a striker in 2026.
How are Everton going to cope without Iliman Ndiaye for a month? 😫
The silver lining from the draw is that Everton avoided defeat despite being without several key players, including an ill Jack Grealish.
Everton’s top scorer for 2025/26, Iliman Ndiaye, is also unavailable while away at AFCON, and his latest Senegal display showed the Toffees exactly what they are missing.
Iliman Ndiaye is a creative spark at AFCON
On the same day of Everton’s draw with Burnley, Ndiaye impressed for Senegal as they drew 1-1 with DR Congo in their second group stage match.
Playing just ahead of Everton teammate Idrissa Gueye in midfield, Ndiaye was given licence to roam and create for his nation.
As per SofaScore, Ndiaye led the way for Senegal by completing three key passes in his 89-minute performance.
What concerns do you have about Iliman Ndiaye leaving Everton in the summer?😫
Surely Everton must hand him a new contract!
That is more than any other player in the Senegal side. Unfortunately, Ndiaye did not pick up an assist for his efforts, but his creativity was in full flow.
His eye for a line-cutting pass and ability to break down defences was sorely missed by Everton in the recent clash with Burnley.
Everton are missing their three most creative players
In the draw with Burnley, Moyes had to cope without several star players, including the three most creative stars in his squad.
Grealish leads Everton’s assist charts this season with four, while Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Ndiaye rank joint-second with two assists.
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Against Burnley, Grealish was out with illness, Dewsbury-Hall is recovering from injury and Ndiaye was in action for Senegal at AFCON.
Dwight McNeil, Charly Alcaraz and Tyler Dibling were all given an opportunity to step up in their absence, but they failed to fill the creative void.
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