5 Telling Stats from Everton’s 1-1 Battle with Manchester United

VAR decisions aside, let’s take a look at five telling stats from the United game that give us some insight as to what’s going on at Everton...

Rotation

Carlo makes 5 changes

While Marco Silva may have been accused of being too predictable, the same certainly can’t be said about Mr Ancelotti.

Despite a decent team performance against Arsenal last week, the Italian rang the changes at Goodison, with no less than five different players lining up for the Blues.

There was also some murmurs when the line-ups were announced, with Tom Davies and Michael Keane earning surprise starts – although both went on to put in strong performances.

Another Early Goal

Only Liverpool have scored more in the opening 15 minutes this season

One consistency across the season for the Blues, has been early goals.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s press saw the Blues opening the scoring within three minutes at Goodison, after the same in-form striker scored in the opening minute at the Emirates last week.

The Blues have now scored eight goals in the opening 15 minutes of matches this season, the same number as Manchester City. Only the Reds (nine) have scored more.

Dom’s on Fire

13^th goal of the season

After missing some big chances last week, Dominic Calvert-Lewin was back at it against United, scoring the early goal, while only an excellent save from David De Gea prevented him from making it two just minutes later.

He’s now up to 13 goals for the season, the joint seventh highest scorer in the league.

Plus, if you take away goals from penalties, only Danny Ings, Sergio Aguero, Jamie Vardy and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have scored more than Everton’s number nine.

Baines Still Got It

Created three chances v United

I must admit that I thought Leighton Baines looked a little off the pace against Arsenal last week and wondered whether his 35 years had finally caught up with him.

However, against United, he rolled back the years and was one of our best players – creating three chances and looking a constant menace down the left while neutralizing Aaron Wan-Bissaka as an attacking force.

Lucas Digne hasn’t completely rediscovered the form he enjoyed in his debut season for the Blues, and if Bainesy can keep putting in performances like this during his injury lay-off, he might find it difficult to get back into the team before the end of the season.

Another one-year extension for Leighton, please.

Davies Retribution

Completed 7 out of 8 long passes

After a horror show cameo against Newcastle a few weeks ago, many were questioning whether Tom Davies has what it takes at this level.

However, he impressed on his surprise start against United, forming a potent midfield combination with Andre Gomes, as both players successfully moved the ball forward quickly at every opportunity.

Davies completed an impressive seven of his eight long ball attempts – significantly more successful long balls than anyone else on the pitch.

He’s been a first-team player at the club for four years now. The trouble is, Davies, who turns 22 in June, is always in and out of the team at a period in his career when he needs a serious run of games. He has 10 more games this season to show Carlo that he should be Andre Gomes’ main midfield partner, if not, it could be another season of stagnation for him.