Everton lost their second game on the bounce in the Premier League, falling short against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge with a 1-0 loss. David Moyes’ side held 45% possession, creating two ‘big chances’ in the match, but only generating 0.52 xG and taking six shots in total.
Meanwhile, Chelsea held 55% possession, having more control of the game, taking 10 shots and generating 0.98 xG. Whilst it wasn’t a blockbuster game, the Blues had enough control to see the game out, making it back-to-back losses for the Toffees without scoring a goal.
Everton have only scored 34 times this season in 34 games, so we already know they aren’t the most lethal attacking team, but they have been one of the tighter defensive sides this season, conceding 41 goals and holding plenty of teams to frustrating draws, having 14 draws this season. But they were unable to keep a clean sheet today against Chelsea, despite Jordan Pickford’s best efforts.
How Pickford kept Everton in it
The Everton and England shot-stopper has already made 36 appearances this season, conceding 43 goals in all competitions and keeping 11 clean sheets in his 3,240 minutes played. The 31-year-old was unable to add to his clean sheets, despite making some big saves to keep Chelsea out.
Pickford made six saves in the game, preventing a total of 0.66 xG, with four saves coming from inside the box. The only goal of the game came from Nicolas Jackson in the 27th minute, catching Pickford off guard with a shot from a turnover, finding the bottom corner from outside the box.
If it wasn’t for Pickford, Chelsea could have had a few more, but Everton didn’t really look like scoring themselves, apart from the odd snapshot, which isn’t a new story this season for the Toffees.
Why Everton should drop Beto
Beto has made 31 appearances for Everton this campaign, netting 10 goals in all competitions, six of which came in the Premier League in his 1,583 minutes played. All six of his league goals have come under Moyes since his arrival, but he now finds himself eight league games without a goal after not scoring against Chelsea.
Minutes
64
Touches
23
Accurate Passes
4/9
Shots
1
Dribble Attempts
0/1
Ground Duels Won
2/7
Aerial Duels Won
1/3
Possession Lost
12
Error leading to goal
1
The 27-year-old only managed 23 touches in the game, fewer than Pickford, who managed more than double Beto’s touches (54). He only made four of his nine passes, having a 44% pass accuracy in the match, and lost possession 12 times.
This saw Beto given a 1/10 match rating by Football Insider, labeling his afternoon as ‘horrendous’. Whilst the target man was often feeding off scraps at Stamford Bridge, his inability to make it stick up front and get bodies around him as an outlet saw Beto hooked after 64 minutes.
Therefore, Moyes should drop the Portuguese centre-forward from the starting line-up for the next match, because he has not done enough to keep his shirt.
Everton are being heavily linked with strikers for this summer, with both Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Armando Broja not expected to be at the club next season. This could see Beto fighting it out next season for a starting spot, with far more competition in his position than there currently is.