Horrible set piece defence

Contrary to prior seasons, defence has been a surprising strong suit for Everton this year. They started off the year with two clean sheets and as a whole have looked more competent in this area. But their set-piece defending looked dreadful against AFC Bournemouth.

The first goal by Callum Wilson was bad, but given the mass of bodies around the goal, not the most egregious. But Ryan Fraser’s second goal had no business finding the back of the net. To allow a goal from that angle is just not acceptable in my mind.

It’s been said before that with Everton’s difficulty in scoring, the defence needs to step up week in and week out. By allowing two goals from set-pieces, Everton failed massively in their defensive duties.

Road woes continue

In their first three away games this season, Everton have been completely unimpressive. The team have just one goal and one point to show for their efforts away from Goodison Park so far. While it may be early days still, these are not stats that show this team is moving to the next level.

A road loss to Manchester City or Chelsea can be forgiven. But Everton’s three road matches have been at Crystal Palace, Aston Villa and Bournemouth. This point has been repeated endlessly, but these are games that Everton should be getting points from. This team may be able to shock everyone and score an odd win here or there against a top six side, but that is far from a guarantee.

Everton’s early season schedule has been relatively tame and it is nothing short of disappointing to see them fail to gain any real ground in the table while away from home.

More of the same issues upfront

Everton have score more than one goal in a match only once this season. We may only be five games into the season, but that’s a problem. It’s especially a problem for a team that invested so heavily in attacking players over the summer.

Having Andre Gomes not in the line up was obviously a big absence. But Marco Silva seems to be trotting out a similar line up week after week hoping that things will finally click. I would much rather see him start the likes of Moise Kean or Bernard and try to score early goals, as opposed to throwing them on late and praying they can make something happen.

A team with this much attacking talent should not be struggling to score like Everton have been. One has too wonder if this is more down to the manager than the players themselves. Everton seem so reliant on the full backs and wingers to make things happen for them and ignoring the rest of the pitch. If the attacks down the wings don’t produce opportunities, this team seems befuddled. Marco Silva may need to have a chat with his assistants and try to figure out some other ways for Everton to generate offense.