Everton manager Sean Dyche has proclaimed that he wants to instil a “relentless mentality” in his squad and one stand-out statistic from his side’s dramatic comeback against Tottenham Hotspur showed that his plan is working.
The Blues were on the back foot at Goodison Park on Monday night after Abdoulaye Doucoure’s 58th minute sending off was followed by Harry Kane’s goal from the penalty spot 10 minutes later but with Spurs substitute Lucas Moura also getting his marching orders two minutes from full-time, Michael Keane delivered a blockbuster last-gasp equaliser courtesy of a spectacular long-range strike. It was the second time in as many matches that Everton had fought back to secure a draw with a late equaliser and such points in difficult circumstances could make the difference come the end of the season in what is the biggest Premier League relegation fight in living memory in terms of the number of clubs involved.
Ahead of Everton’s previous home match against Brentford on March 11, Dyche had said: “What I do know is the relentless mentality I want from the players and we have been speaking about that a lot. Anything is achievable at any given moment in a game so we take on the game to the last breath.”
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On that occasion, the Blues were at it from the kick-off with Dwight McNeil netting the only goal of the game after just 35 seconds but their 11th hour reprieves to draw 2-2 with Chelsea, courtesy of substitute Ellis Simms’ first senior strike for the club and now the 1-1 draw with Tottenham show that the policy is starting to bear fruit. While part of the tactic undoubtedly surrounds the fitness levels that noted taskmaster Dyche demands of his players, they’re also footballers as well as athletes and you can’t just expect to achieve results with a team of 'Forrest Gumps' who merely keep on running.
Everton’s intensive press throughout the game ensured that, even with a one-man advantage for a third of the game after Doucoure’s dismissal, the visitors were unable to dominate proceedings.
It’s a factor that their interim manager Cristian Stellini, taking charge for the first time after his former boss Antonio Conte exited the club, acknowledged in his post-match press conference. The Italian said: “We needed to keep the ball, move the ball quickly and find the space to attack. This is the way we play the game with one extra player and we have to do much better.
“It’s about intention to keep the ball and wait for the right moment to try and score. We had some chances but did not find a way to score.”
Stellini also acknowledged Everton’s own contribution to their recovery, adding: “When you have a team like this, in their stadium, it’s never easy.” But just what did the Blues do exactly to ‘harry’ Kane and company into relinquishing their lead?
Ball recoveries is the answer. It’s an important tangible measurement in the football stats world and stands for recovering the ball in a situation where neither team has possession or where the ball has been played directly to a player by an opponent.
So, while possession won means a conscious effort in order to win the ball (through duels and/or interceptions), ball recoveries are picking up the ball when it belongs to no one. Comparisonator shows that in that round of Premier League matches, only West Ham United (60) in their 1-0 win over bottom club Southampton made more ball recoveries than Everton’s 56.
Crucially for Dyche’s side though was the areas in which they were making ball recoveries and they topped the division for the weekend with an impressive 20 in the opposition half, a full six more than their closest challengers, Manchester City and West Ham United (both 14). But who was making these ball recoveries in the Tottenham half?
Idrissa Gueye led the way with four while his midfield partner Amadou Onana had three as did centre-back pair James Tarkowski and Keane. Ben Godfrey and substitute Tom Davies – who was only on the pitch for the last seven minutes – both had two apiece with a further one each from Seamus Coleman, Alex Iwobi and McNeil.
The scale of the achievement is put into context by the fact that City lead the way in the category for the season with an average of 13.68 while the Blues usually make just 10.24, little over half their latest figure. So that really is pretty “relentless” in the best possible way.
Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.
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