Dyche must now drop 6/10 Everton star

Everton once again frustrated a team near the top of the Premier League this weekend as Chelsea became the latest title chaser to fail to find the back of the net against a dogged Toffees outfit.

This isn’t even Everton’s first victim when it comes to high-flying teams from London either, as Sean Dyche’s men travelled to Arsenal last time out and shut up shop at the Emirates Stadium in a very similar fashion, before then getting under Chelsea’s skin back on their own turf.

Dyche would have loved the resilience on display from his side, with Enzo Maresca left to curse how well-drilled the hosts were defensively at the full-time whistle.

Everton’s defensive heroics vs Chelsea

Whilst the likes of Leicester City and Wolverhampton Wanderers have shipped goals for fun near the foot of the league, leaking 37 and 40 strikes respectively, the constantly switched-on Toffees have only given up 21.

Jordan Pickford is already up to seven clean sheets for the season as his reputation for being a dependable option between the sticks only increases in strength, with his showing against the unusually goal-shy Blues seeing him make four saves, which included an expert denial of Nicolas Jackson from point-blank range during the first 45 minutes.

Moreover, the likes of Jarrad Branthwaite and Vitaliy Mykolenko stood out across the back four, with the Ukranian full-back lively throughout by winning seven duels, whilst his partner in crime in Branthwaite won 100% of his own duels alongside registering four tackles.

Dyche’s side would have definitely trudged off at the end happier with the final scoreline, but Dominic Calvert-Lewin would have been left frustrated by his individual showing once more regardless of the points being shared, as another league game without a goal rudely greeted him.

Calvert-Lewin’s performance in numbers

Not finding the back of the net in the Premier League since the middle of September, it’s fair to say Calvert-Lewin isn’t loving his football at the moment.

In truth, this hasn’t just been a sharp decline in form that’s come out of nowhere this campaign, with his numbers gradually dwindling over the years amidst recurring injury problems.

The Sheffield-born striker will desperately want to reach his 2020-21 peak again, but even as he is now relatively injury-free, the 27-year-old looks completely short of confidence.

That was definitely the case against Maresca’s visitors, as the anonymous Everton number nine failed to register a single shot all game before being hooked off the pitch on the 73rd-minute mark.

Other worrying numbers from the goalless affair saw Calvert-Lewin complete just seven accurate passes from his minimal 24 touches of the ball (fewer than Pickford’s 45), alongside only winning two of his 11 duels on the day, meaning he lost 81% of his duels whilst Chelsea number four Tosin Adarabioyo showed off his prowess in the air.

Dyche could be prepared to roll the dice and drop his misfiring striker for the trip to Manchester City on Boxing Day, therefore, with Beto perhaps preferred as the lone attacker at the Etihad.

That might well be a personnel switch that catches a lacklustre Man City off-guard, with Liverpool Echo journalist Paul Wheelock handing out a mediocre 6/10 rating to Calvert-Lewin after the dust had settled on the uneventful contest, stating that he had ‘no chance’ of breaking his goal drought.

An absolute stalwart of Everton XIs over recent years when fit, Dyche will just want his team to be more of a threat going forward in games to come, which could result in Calvert-Lewin having to become more familiar with a spot on the substitutes bench.