Everton returned to action following a six-week World Cup induced lay-off but despite going ahead early against the Premier League’s bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers, they suffered the agony of a stoppage time 2-1 defeat that saw their opponents move to within a point of them. Here’s a look back at some of the moments you might have missed from the Blues’ Boxing Day encounter at Goodison Park.
For he’s a Yerry good fellow
Yerry Mina ran over to Frank Lampard and embraced the Everton manager after his goal celebration then did the same when he was forced off the pitch. For all the frustrations over the Colombian, he appears to remain a popular member of the Blues dressing room, which just makes the inability to get him out on the pitch and keep him on the pitch, even more annoying.
Last season, when Everton secured a crucial 1-0 victory over Manchester United on Grand National Day, an injured Mina was in and around his team-mates, geeing them up before kick-off and then enthusiastically congratulating them after the final whistle. Nobody has ever doubted Mina the man, the team-mate, or on the all-too-rare occasions that he is fit, the player so it was perhaps telling that his personal relationship with Lampard seems to be on a strong footing despite there being no new contract on the horizon and what seems like an inevitable end to his time at Goodison Park in 2023.
ANALYSIS: Frank Lampard not immune from Bill Kenwright warning as transfer need urgent
VERDICT: Everton have huge problem and biggest cheer of second half against Wolves shows it
Onana digging deep
As the youngest and most mobile of Everton’s trio in the middle, Amadou Onana is typically described as a ‘box-to-box’ midfielder but the Belgian international found himself deployed in a distinctly more withdrawn role against Wolves than we’d seen him before the World Cup break. In the defeats to Leicester City and Bournemouth in November, the 21-year-old was operating in a more advanced position but rather than it releasing the shackles, the move appeared to disrupt the balance of the Blues engine room and leave them looking exposed.
Onana is clearly a precocious talent with an exciting future ahead of him but it must be remembered that for all his ability and imposing physical frame, he’s still very much a rookie, learning the ropes in the Premier League. The £33.5million recruit remains a work in progress and all of us – including Lampard – are learning just what kind of midfielder he will be.
Out of the naughty corner
Amazingly, Mina’s headed opener was Everton’s first goal from a corner kick all season and it’s an area in which the Blues have been determined to improve upon. First team coach Ashley Cole, has been personally detailed with focusing on this area for the team and during last month’s trip to Australia, he spoke at length to the ECHO about the efforts he and the players have been putting in on set pieces.
Even when Mina is not in the side, there are plenty of aerial threats among the Blues squad and they should be doing more to take advantage of dead ball situations, after all we saw Michael Keane score from a well-worked corner routine some 10 months ago in Lampard’s first Premier League home game in charge. Efforts to work on defending corners also have to be kept up as Everton’s defenders were guilty of switching off and allowing Daniel Podence to tiptoe his way into the danger zone after taking a short corner himself and net Wolves’ equaliser when the ball was delivered back into the area.
Cult from the blue
The painted banners that have adorned the Gwladys Street in recent seasons have proven a colourful addition to matchdays in what are Goodison Park’s final years and the ‘Cult Heroes’ design unfurled before the game against Wolves was one of the most-ambitious yet. No fewer than 20 former Street End favourites were depicted with the full list as follows: Bob Latchford, Tony Hibbert, David Unsworth, Graham Stuart, Andrei Kanchelskis, Tim Cahill, Andy King, John Bailey, Daniel Amokachi, Steven Pienaar, Pat Van Den Hauwe, Landon Donovan, Duncan McKenzie, Leighton Baines, Thomas Gravesen, Duncan Ferguson, Seamus Coleman, Kevin Campbell, Peter Reid and Richarlison.
While hugely-popular with supporters, it’s safe to say the latter didn’t make the biggest individual contribution to the Everton cause but he might yet prove to be the biggest miss. The Brazilian’s £60million transfer to Tottenham over the summer was an economic necessity but the Blues don’t want to be left counting the cost of potentially dropping out of the Premier League and without Richarlison’s goals and attacking versatility, they now find themselves in a real mess.
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