For all that Everton have tightened up this season, their failures in the final third continue to haunt them as they suffered a third consecutive defeat with a 1-0 reversal at Newcastle United. The Blues were generally stout at the back here but ultimately undone by a sublime piece of skill just after the half-hour mark as Miguel Almiron found the net with a perfectly-placed chipped shot from the edge of the area that gave Jordan Pickford no chance.
Just three weeks ago we were hailing how Everton were now a different proposition from last season and a far more resolute outfit than in the recent past when they came from behind to defeat Southampton 2-1. However, that remains the only game this season in which they have scored more than once and now they’re struggling to just to find the net at all.
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The struggles of Frank Lampard ’s side in the early weeks of the campaign were accepted by the mitigation of the circumstances but after looking like things were finally taking off, such is the quality in the Premier League, the situation has quickly unravelled in three testing fixtures which have all ended in defeat.
After a dream start against Manchester United with Alex Iwobi’s early goal, Everton have been turned over not just by the Red Devils but Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United with the fear that in these last two away day blanks, they haven’t even looked close to scoring.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s return to fitness brings hope after the centre-forward started for the first time this season here but even the best centre-forwards will struggle when they’re starved of service and there were no crosses coming in from the wings for him here. It’s obviously not the same kind of stakes as when Crystal Palace last came to Goodison Park but Saturday’s home return has now taken on far greater importance as the Blues look to stop the rot.
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