Everton were unable to land a glove on Chelsea in the second half, despite growing into the second half in Saturday afternoon’s 2-0 loss at Stamford Bridge.
The Toffees fell to a Premier League defeat in the capital, and although Iliman Ndiaye hit the post, it was a goalless outing from David Moyes’ side.
A lack of goals from their strike force, both starting the game and coming off the bench, means that goals have been in short supply at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
And Everton fans will now be wary of a statistic that could pose questions over their squad depth, with a metric that has them at the bottom of the Premier League emerging.
Chelsea v Everton - Premier League
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Everton are the only side who haven’t had a substitute change a game this season
A graphic via The Athletic shows that, of all the clubs in the Premier League, Everton are the only side who haven’t had a goal involvement from any substitute.
Manchester United and Crystal Palace make up the bottom three, having had one substitute each to record a goal involvement, but Everton are miles behind the other leading sides in the division.
Who was your most disappointing player in Everton’s loss to Chelsea? 😫
Chelsea v Everton - Premier League
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Brighton have 13 goals to their name from substitutes alone, which is more than bottom side Wolves have alone, whilst Aston Villa, Sunderland, Tottenham and Bournemouth – all chasing the European spots like Everton – have eight, seven and six each to their name.
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It’s a worrying sign for the Toffees, and David Moyes has pointed to a lack of squad depth, but the question over poor substitutes could also be raised.
Everton will see their squad depth suffer more in the coming weeks
Moyes has rarely used any attacking substitutes this season and that is a major reason as to why they are at the bottom of that table.
Tyler Dibling has only played 37 minutes off the bench this season, after his only start saw him hooked at half-time vs Crystal Palace.
What went wrong for Everton against Chelsea? 🧐
Another visit to Stamford Bridge without a win… 31 years and counting!
Chelsea vs Everton full time score
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Dwight McNeil has only featured in 91 minutes of Premier League football and has yet to record anything of note, whilst Carlos Alcaraz’s only goal involvement came after his start against Bournemouth last week.
Moyes now won’t have Iliman Ndiaye for the best part of a month due to the Africa Cup of Nations, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall awaits news on his injury.
It’s unsure as to what substitutes will replace the likes of Alcaraz and Dibling, but Moyes will find it tough to get a tune out of them if history is anything to go by.
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