Everton made their return from the international break with a goalless draw against Aston Villa at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
Despite failing to rattle the opposition net, the Toffees were by far the better of the two sides and dominated proceedings for most of the game. They had 20 shots throughout the match but managed only a couple on target - this stat alone sums up the side’s performance at home.
While fans may be disappointed with just one point, there were plenty of positives for David Moyes’s side. The defence looked rock-solid and didn’t allow the opposition to threaten Jordan Pickford’s goal, Iliman Ndiaye and Jack Grealish were brilliant as usual, the Blues showed a lot of variety in attack and Merlin Rohl made a strong impression on his debut from the bench.
Here are all the talking points, including the positives and the negatives, from Everton’s 0-0 draw with Aston Villa:
Lovely little cameo from Merlin Röhl
Evertonians were treated to their first glimpse of Deadline Day signing Merlin Röhl against Aston Villa on Saturday. Making his debut off the bench, the German midfielder showed why David Moyes praised his performances in training and the way he’s adapted to the side so quickly.
The midfield looked livelier with him in the middle, partnering Idrissa Gueye and in just 24 minutes, Röhl won seven duels. He covered a lot of ground, was constantly available for the ball and involved with plenty of give-and-go with his teammates.
It’s a promising start to the 23-year-old’s Premier League career and early signs suggest that he might end up being a Röhls-Royce of a midfielder.
Assured display at the back led by Tarkowski and Keane
It’s natural to feel disappointed with the draw given the quality of Everton’s performance against Aston Villa, but the assuredness in defence was the biggest positive to take away from the game.
Michael Keane has made a fantastic start to the season and he was colossal once again, covering ground, winning duels, snuffing out threats and even getting on the end of chances from crosses and set-pieces. James Tarkowski, who had a relatively rocky start to the season, was also rock-solid and put in his best performance in the league so far.
Between the duo, they won 14 duels in the match and were also well supported by Jake O’Brien and James Garner on the flanks. Moyes will also be delighted by the fact that the miscommunication and individual errors that led to Wolves scoring twice just before the international break were also largely absent.
David Moyes missed a trick with lack of changes
In the aftermath of the game, I can’t help but shake the feeling that David Moyes might have missed a trick by not making enough changes in the second half. He only made two substitutions, bringing on Merlin Rohl and Thierno Barry for the final 24 and 15 minutes, respectively.
Moyes had the options of Charly Alcaraz and Tyler Dibling and both of them could’ve added different qualities in the final third.
Alcaraz has had strong cameos off the bench before and offers pace, energy, associative combinations and goal threat playing just behind the striker. Dibling, while still young, is quick and capable of beating his marker on the right wing and has an eye for a pass.
What’s the point of having depth if you’re not going to resort to it to unlock games like these?
Everton’s striker conundrum
Against Aston Villa, Beto had one of those exhibitions on how not to score a goal. The disappointing thing with Everton’s number nine is how hot and cold he can blow. He is the fifth-highest scorer in the league since Moyes returned in January, but every now and then, he has these games that make you wonder, “Bloody hell, how has he not scored?!”
Then there’s Thierno Barry. He came on for the final 15 minutes and the little threat that the Blues had with Beto leading the line also vaporised. Barry had a good chance when he was fed through late in the game but didn’t have the pace to create separation from the opposition defender and get an accurate shot on target.
While the 22-year-old has several redeeming qualities - Barry’s touches, holdup play and combinations are far better than Beto’s and he has time to grow - he does come across as being too lightweight in the box. He hasn’t shown glimpses of being a lethal striker of the ball and is not physically strong enough to bully his markers inside the box.
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