Okay, I'll give Everton credit for their excellent defense and their very real goal threat. We could have lost this game despite bossing it most of the time. But eventually we wore them down, with the sensational Max Dowman announcing himself on the big stage with the game-winning cross and then the icing on the cake goal, making him the Premier League's youngest ever (16years 73 days) scorer. So, happy times.
But before that 89th minute tap-in for Gyokeres, it sure looked like we were never going to score. Saka was livelier than he was in Germany, but could not make the key difference. Madueke started on the left and was ineffective; when Martinelli replaced him he was not much better. Eze continues to disappoint. As our #10 (on his shirt and in the formation today) it was incumbent upon him to be the creative force, and he was not that. Havertz seemed likeliest to make a breakthrough but didn't, though he really should have been awarded a penalty when the defender he blew by stepped on his heel and brought him down.
The Toffees had a couple of great chances but were denied by Calafiori's upraised foot and the woodwork, and Raya made some good saves. I'll look up the xG later, but those were all good chances. Unfortunately, Timber had to be replaced in the first half for what looked like a groin pull.
As of this writing, it's all square between West Ham and Man City. I expect the Citizens to pull it out, but one can hope. Former Gunner Mavropanos scored the Hammers goal on a corner.
No comments:
Post a Comment