One Everton dud was ‘STRUGGLING’ against Fulham as Dyche’s men CRASH OUT of EFL Cup 🏆😢
Everton may have come from behind last night against Fulham, but showed no such spirit in the penalty shootout as the visitors left with a place in the EFL Cup final four.
Although the Toffees found themselves in good offensive positions on numerous occasions, it felt like they had regressed back to that opening day of the Premier League campaign with some patented profligacy.
Sean Dyche will leave Goodison Park incensed at his side’s performance, who looked lazy, tired and a shadow of the side that has recorded four straight league wins.
And whilst Amadou Onana will likely be the villain, for missing the key spot-kick which would have won them the tie, there were plenty of other duds who underperformed throughout the 90 minutes beforehand.
It was a game they could, and should have wrapped up way before it was decided by a lottery.
For that, Dominic Calvert-Lewin certainly has to shoulder plenty of the blame.
Although the marksman was enduring something of a barren spell in front of goal, his continued fitness and subsequent presence remained a positive for a fanbase that has been starved of a striker for years now.
However, that has perhaps offered a degree of comfort for their number nine, who continues to struggle up top despite remaining as tireless as ever.
The 26-year-old has not found the net since October.
He came no closer to breaking that hoodoo last night either, with another anonymous display in which he was largely forced to feed off scraps.
As such, his 23 touches marked a depressing low, with his goalkeeper Jordan Pickford even enjoying more (41).
To make matters worse, the usually dominant finisher cut a frustrated figure, losing a whopping 80% of his total duels including six of the seven aerials he competed in.
Calvert-Lewin is usually the spearhead which drives Dyche’s system, but last night went missing when Everton needed him most. Journalist Connor O’Neill would echo this sentiment, writing: ‘He struggled as a result of his side being unable to keep the ball during the 60 minutes he was on. As a result of that, he didn’t manage to carve out an opening for himself.’
What makes matters worse for the Englishman is that Beto, his 61st-minute replacement, actually found the crucial equaliser from the bench.
His starting position is beginning to come under some rather intense scrutiny, and rightly so, as a striker simply not putting the ball in the back of the net.
Having now crashed out of the cup, Saturday marks a new, albeit tough opportunity to right those wrongs away to Tottenham Hotspur.
Whether Calvert-Lewin starts is a debate for another day.
