Michael Ball tackles all the big issues at Hill Dickinson Stadium following Everton's 2-0 defeat to Manchester City
Michael Ball
Michael Ball
Despite the result, hopefully the Everton players can take some confidence from their game at the Etihad Stadium having gone toe-to-toe with a top team, trying to put them under pressure. In our first game back after the last international break – a Merseyside derby at Anfield no less – I thought we started by looking a bit passive, sloppy and slow.
We had a great start to the season but in between these first two international breaks, we didn’t seem to have retained those levels, so I hoped we could learn from that.
We saw a response to that though early on at the Etihad Stadium. We started brightly and were passing the ball around, showing confidence with our chests puffed out a little bit.
On the ball, we were trying to play our own game and without it, we were making Manchester City panic by putting them under pressure. For all the quality they have, we were forcing mistakes from them.
Of course, as the game progresses, City are going to have their passages of play at times, but we were focused, pressing with intent to try and force issues and mistakes. We were becoming a nuisance for them, and they couldn’t get into their rhythms.
At the other end, we had some big chances but lacking that last bit of quality just let us down. If Beto had just made a bit more of an angle on his run, it might have been a tap-in.
I thought Iliman Ndiaye was absolutely fantastic, he had one of his best games in an Everton shirt and I thought for a long time he was head and shoulders the number one player on the pitch. At half-time, I was actually disappointed that the score was still 0-0.
After the break, it was a question of whether we could keep the concentration and communication going but unfortunately, I don’t think we did that. I heard that Erling Haaland only had one touch in our box in the first half but while the opening goal is a good move from Manchester City, we were far too deep.
Not a single opposition player was under pressure in the whole build-up and to make it even worse, when Haaland heads the ball into the goal, there are three defenders plus a goalkeeper in the six-yard box but there’s nobody within five yards of him, you could have drawn a big circle around him. He’s the most prolific striker in the world right now and we’ve left him alone in the six-yard box.
Nobody took responsibility and it felt like the fear factor had set in where if we weren’t sure then we’d just retreat after being brave and committed in the first half. The two quick goals for Haaland were just a bit too easy and after that, City were just spraying it about, and Jordan Pickford had to make a couple of late saves.
I think Everton had a case for thinking they should have been awarded a penalty as Bernardo Silva might not be intending to handle the ball, but the shot is going on target and I’ve seen lesser ones given against us. He made his body a lot bigger than before the shot and it hit his arm.
As for Beto, strikers are funny ones. Like goalkeepers they’re in their own little bubble. I’ve seen loads of strikers have awful games but come off the pitch with the man-of-the-match award because they scored, even if they haven’t really done anything else.
You’ve got to give Beto credit that he keeps going, his head doesn’t drop, and he doesn’t go hiding. He didn’t sulk but he’s getting in the right areas, and he got himself on the end of two massive opportunities at Manchester City, but you feel he’s got to hit the target.
He’s a powerful striker who is long in his strides and can cause problems for defences if you play balls in behind for him. In those six-yard box moments when you’ve got to be a little bit lighter on your feet and sharper if the ball is not perfect, you’ve got to be more in control of your body and it’s lacking in these areas that has let him down.
As David Moyes has said though, Beto isn’t walking around Finch Farm like he’s the finished article. He wants to improve, he’s trying to improve and hopefully over time, all his hard work pays off.
It won’t change overnight, but Beto is not the only striker in the Premier League who is struggling right now. There’s a lot of strikers who have been bought for big money who aren’t setting the world alight at the moment and the numbers expected from their fanbase.
Pickford needs to change one aspect of his play
Like all Evertonians, I’m over the moon that Jordan Pickford has signed his new contract and he wants to be part of our plans going forward. He’s been a fantastic addition to the club since he first arrived in 2017, but I want to see the levels with his kicking that we see for England when he’s playing for Everton.
He’s not Franz Beckenbauer and he needs to try and trust his team-mates in front of him. When he goes away with England, he knows the players in front of him are top quality with a distinct style of play.
We’ve got Beto and we have to kick it long, but we don’t need to do it all the time. I’m not digging him out here, but sometimes Jordan demands the ball when he shouldn’t receive it, you should trust your team-mates in front of you, they’re the footballers.
There are times when we’re going to need Jordan to do a ‘Hail Mary’ but not always and we surrendered possession unnecessarily too many times in these circumstances at the Etihad. Against lesser opposition, it might not hurt you, but Manchester City make you work.
When there’s nobody closing you down and you’ve got a simple ball to make and it doesn’t happen, you’re surrendering the ball far too easily to a top team who love possession. Within 30 seconds, Manchester City have reset themselves, have done a nice little work-through, getting down their left-hand side between Iliman Ndiaye and Jake O’Brien, and you’re thinking that if Jordan’s kick was correct, that doesn’t happen.
Jordan has got high levels for himself, he pulls off so many saves, he makes it look easy because his positioning was spot-on, so stats-wise he did fantastic for us. However, in my eyes, he should leave it to his team-mates more often to build up the play.
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