Sheffield Wednesday – Everton 0:2
24/09/2019Úkol splněn. Everton po dvou ligových prohrách dokázal zásluhou dvougólového střelce Calverta-Lewina zvítězit v Hillsborough a postoupit do osmifinále Ligového poháru.
Manažer Silva se podle předpokladů odvážil okysličit základní sestavu a stejně jako ve druhém kole poháru provedl pět změn. Od první minuty v klasickém rozestavení 4-5-1 vyběhli na trávník Djibril Sidibé, Mason Holgate, Tom Davies, Alex Iwobi a Dominic Calvert-Lewin, kteří vystrnadili na lavičku Colemana, Keanea, Schneiderlina Sigurdssona a Keana. Poslední dvě volná místa mezi náhradníky potom zaujali uzdravený Lössl a jako už tradičně v letošní sezóně Walcott. Mimo zápasový kádr zůstali Stekelenburg, Baines, Tosun a zranění Gomes s Gbaminem.
Utkání bohužel nevysílala žádné televize, a tak se Evertonians připojení online museli spokojit pouze s rádiovým přenosem na oficiální stránce.
Toffees vstoupili do zápasu zle, už po pár minutách po Daviesově chybě musel při zakončení Windalla hasit požár pozorný Pickford. Z nepříjemného startu se ale hosté rychle oklepali a už během úvodní desetiminutovky rozhodli o osudu zápasu, když se dvakrát gólově prosadil Dominic Calvert-Lewin, v letošní sezóně často (a mnohdy neprávem) haněný. 22letý útočník nejprve v šesté minutě skvěle zpracoval Sidibého centr a ještě lepší střelou s pomocí břevna otevřel skóre – 0:1, aby už za další čtyři minuty po dobrém náběhu a přihrávce Iwobiho, hrajícího na pozici čísla deset, přidal i druhou trefu – 0:2.
Calvert-Lewin mohl ještě do konce prvního poločasu před zraky 4 500 fanoušků Blues zkompletovat hattrick, ale ve své další velmi nadějné šanci hlavičkou nenavázal na dřívější přesná zakončení.
Nutno podotknout, že druholigový Sheffield Wednesday značně protočil sestavu, snad ještě více než Merseysiders. Svou nejlepší pasáž duelu si přichystal na začátek druhého poločasu, nedbalé minuty Evertonu využil k nebezpečným příležitostem, jež však zůstaly nevyužity kvůli slabšímu zakončení. Silvovi svěřenci byli opět nedůslední při bránění standardních situací.
Ve zbytku duelu si už Everton vedení pohlídal, označit jeho výkon za bezchybný by ale bylo nadnesené. Výhrou si nicméně zajistil důležitý postup do další fáze soutěže a trochu si vylepšil sebevědomí před sobotním těžkým ligovým kláním s Manchesterem City na Goodison Parku. Pozitivním impulsem jsou i některé nadějné výkony častěji nevyužívaných hráčů, kteří si řekli o další šanci na hřišti, třebaže se nesmí opomínat druhořadá kvalita soupeře.
Branky: 6. a 10. Calvert Lewin
ŽK: 37. Delph
Sheffield Wednesday: Dawson – Odubajo, Iorfa, Thorniley, Fox – Murphy (59. Harris), Pelupessy, Luongo, Reach – Nuhiu (70. Fletcher), Winnall (65. Rhodes)
Everton: Pickford – Sidibé, Holgate, Mina, Digne – Davies, Delph (90+1. Schneiderlin) – Richarlison (68. Walcott), Iwobi, Bernard (76. Sigurdsson) – Calvert-Lewin
Hodnocení hráčů podle Liverpool Echo: Pickford 8, Sidibé 7, Holgate 7, Mina 8, Digne 7, Davies 6, Delph 7, Richarlison 6, Iwobi 7, Bernard 7, Calvert-Lewin 8, Walcott 6, Sigurdsson 6
Rozhodčí: Simpson
Diváci: 24 485
Ako sa postaviť k tomuto výsledku? Málo reakcií možno vyplýva z toho, že zápas nebol vysielaný, ale som si istý, že keby bol výsledok opačný, negatívne ohlasy by na seba nenechali čakať. Máme po ruke len 16 minútový zostrih, ktorý napovie len veľmi málo. Je teda čo hodnotiť? Dajú sa vyvodiť nejaké závery? Pred zápasom so City asi len ťažko. Aspoň podľa mňa.
Někde jsem narazil na to, že si Marco po zápase s Sheffield United stěžoval, že se jeho hráči na hřišti schovávají. Napadá někoho, o kom mluvil? Já mám svého favorita 🙂
Trochu OT příspěvek, ne přímo k zápasu, ale k nynější situaci v Evertonu ze serveru The Athletic. Tento americký projekt chce dobýt (nejen) anglický mediální fotbalový trh, přes léto najal spoustu skvělých novinářů, kteří produkují zejména analytické články. Každý tým v PL má dedikované novináře, Everton píší můj oblíbený Greg O’Keeffe (dříve Liverpool Echo nebo BBC) a talentovaný Patrick Boyland. Celé články jsou dostupné pouze po zaplacení předplatného (i když první měsíc je zdarma). Výjimečně kopíruji nejnovější článek O’Keeffeho, obsahuje spoustu zajímavých info, jako třeba že Silva chce hrát 4-3-3, ale čeká, až se mu uzdraví Gbamin a Gomes. Dejte vědět, jestli odbíráte The Athletic, či jak se Vám líbí článek níže 🙂
What’s going wrong at Everton?
At the end of last weekend’s 2-0 loss to Sheffield United, Everton boss Marco Silva stood on the touchline and shook hands with his team as they trudged off, clapping some players on the back as the jeers rang down.
It was a move, The Athletic understands, that raised eyebrows in some quarters of the directors’ box.
Silva has never been one to hammer his players in public but, in a footballing city as passionate as Liverpool, fans want to feel their ire at an abject performance is shared by the manager. He must be able to empathise with them, at the same time as boosting his players’ morale.
It wasn’t supposed to be like this.
The 2019-20 Premier League fixture list gave Everton, going into their second season under Silva, a tantalising opportunity. In the opening six weeks, the Blues were handed a string of seemingly winnable matches. After travelling to Crystal Palace, they hosted struggling Watford, then there were two promoted sides in Aston Villa and Sheffield United. A trip to Bournemouth should, on paper, have at least yielded a point.
Even after defeats in the Midlands and on the south coast, Everton might have risen to fifth place on Saturday night. Instead, Chris Wilder’s Sheffield United arrived winless in their last 12 away top-flight games — and left with three points.
It was the end of a seven-month unbeaten spell at Goodison Park, when the stadium had felt like a fortress once more. Even the best runs must end but for it to be soured by Sheffield United was troubling. Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City were the last side to beat Everton at home last February and are next up in the Premier League.
More troubling for Silva was a personal statistic. For the 21st time since he was appointed in the summer of 2018, Everton were unable to come from behind to win a Premier League game.
Silva lambasted what he perceived as uncharacteristic nerves among his players when they went behind against Sheffield United. But a first-team source has told The Athletic that those jitters are based on a fear that Everton, who mustered only three shots on target despite 70 per cent possession on Saturday, simply can’t score enough to come back when they go behind.
As an attacking unit, Everton are all lateral movement — “pretty easy to set up and defend against” according to one defender who has faced them this term. Silva has switched between Moise Kean and Dominic Calvert-Lewin to lead the line but the pair have scored only one league goal between them. Calvert-Lewin’s goals in the EFL Cup will hopefully fill him with confidence.
The manager’s selection of two defensive central midfielders also continues to irk. Evertonians have been inured to 4-2-3-1, but the frustration of having two holding men in the engine room against limited teams is growing. Was it necessary to select Morgan Schneiderlin, who offers little in moving the ball into attacking areas, alongside Fabian Delph against a team like Sheffield United, who are happy to defend in a low-block with 30 per cent possession?
Some supporters charge Silva, as they once did Roberto Martinez, of having no plan B when plan A is failing. But against Sheffield United, he changed his formation twice — from 4-2-3-1 to 4-4-2, then finally to 3-1-2-4 — and neither reboot produced a turnaround.
At the highest level of the club, there remains goodwill towards the 42-year-old. There is an appreciation of his talent and dedication as a coach, coupled with understanding over the tough hand he has been dealt by injuries. While Ronald Koeman and Sam Allardyce were shown the door quickly when the fans turned, that is unlikely to be the case again — even if a section of supporters are losing faith.
He is popular in the dressing room, too. Silva retains the respect of Everton’s senior players, who admire his meticulous approach to training and preparation.
There are gripes, of course. Some players remain disgruntled by Silva’s policy of bringing the squad together in a hotel the night before both home and away games. They feel it stops them spending time with their families on a Friday as they must report to a Liverpool city-centre hotel only a few hours after finishing training. Silva started the practice to monitor their pre-game nutritional intake and improve team spirit, but has hinted he is flexible on the policy ahead of night matches.
It has worked to some extent: the squad is a close-knit group, devoid of damaging cliques. Most players believe the end of last season, when they recovered from a poor run to beat Chelsea, West Ham, Arsenal and Manchester United, indicates the manager’s methods can work.
The Athletic understands that the last thing many of them want is another new coach with another new set of backroom staff and a totally different philosophy after so much change in the last few years. They are frustrated, but it is at their own results.
Conversations in the players’ lounge at Finch Farm have centred around the fact it is Leicester City sitting pretty in third place and Bournemouth fifth, and not them. There remains a determination to stick together and fight their way out of this slump before it causes permanent damage to the 2019-20 campaign.
Everton’s problems, though, have been at either end of the pitch. They are not scoring enough goals and beginning to return to the leaky bad defensive habits of last term.
The major flaw in Everton’s summer recruitment was allowing their pursuit of a long-term deal for Kurt Zouma to drag on too long — despite knowing it would be hard to persuade Chelsea to part with him permanently given they had been hit with a transfer ban. The 24-year-old had a successful season on loan from Chelsea last term and formed a strong partnership with Michael Keane, but director of football Marcel Brands should have moved on when Frank Lampard made it clear he wanted to keep Zouma at Stamford Bridge. The Toffees resorted to unsuccessful loan bids for Manchester United’s Chris Smalling and Marcos Rojo.
It left Silva going into the campaign with only two senior recognised central defenders – Phil Jagielka had been allowed to rejoin Sheffield United in July – and a dilemma on his hands should either fall prey to injury or poor form.
The Athletic understands Everton’s defenders have already noted how much of a toll Idrissa Gueye’s absence is taking following his move to Paris Saint-Germain. Replacement Jean-Philippe Gbamin, signed from Mainz for £25 million, only appeared in the opening two games before sustaining a quadriceps muscle injury which ruled him out until the end of next month. Delph and Andre Gomes have also suffered less serious injuries which meant they missed the defeats at Villa, and to Bournemouth and Sheffield United respectively.
The gaps in personnel have meant Silva has been unable to pick the 4-3-3 formation he believes will help the team progress. His vision, it is understood, is for Gomes, Delph and Gbamin to play behind an attacking three of Alex Iwobi, Richarlison and either Kean or Calvert-Lewin.
In the pubs on nearby County Road later on Saturday evening, in the wake of defeat at the hands of Sheffield United, Evertonians were discussing whether Silva is the right man.
“Silva represented something of a gamble by Farhad Moshiri — a young, ambitious manager who likes expansive, possession-based football but with a limited CV who presided over Hull City’s relegation and was then sacked by Watford,” says Lyndon Lloyd, who runs popular Everton fan site ToffeeWeb.
“He wasn’t a universally popular appointment, with many questioning whether he had sufficient pedigree for a club of Everton’s size and aspirations.
“Roberto Martinez and Ronald Koeman tested Evertonians’ faith too far with their refusal to change or adapt when the team’s form fell apart, and there is a feeling that fans have seen this movie before, with the sorry ending already mapped out.
“Having endured the agony and frustration of those two previous managerial reigns, seen how much money has been spent on recruitment in recent years, and glimpsed an opportunity to capitalise on the problems at Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal and break into the top six this season, patience is in short supply.
“Moshiri himself has spoken of a finite window for Everton to get things right before they are left behind by the elite clubs and you wonder how many opportunities we have left.”
Time remains on Silva’s side with the Premier League season still in its nascent stages. Tuesday’s 2-0 win at Sheffield Wednesday to take his side into the fourth round of the League Cup will take a little heat off too.
But the Everton manager must find solutions to their wider concerns, as the problems, and the pressure, mount.
zdroj: https://theathletic.com/1236950/2019/09/25/whats-going-wrong-at-everton