Everton thrashed Chelsea at the Hill Dickinson Stadium – and Michael Keane deserves his flowers.
David Moyes’ side won 3-0, meaning back-to-back wins at HDS for the first time – and it was a tremendous performance.
Everton fans, who was your standout performer in the 3-0 win over Chelsea?
So many unbelievable Toffees performers at HDS!
Everton needed to bounce back after the defeat to Arsenal, and they did it in style against Chelsea.
The Toffees made life hard for their opponents from the get-go, pressing intensely with every player working their socks off.
Beto scored two goals, which saw him become the first Everton player to score a brace at Hill Dickinson. Iliman Ndiaye also bagged a stunning goal, and it was refreshing to see Everton being clinical.
But, as usual, it was also a solid defensive display – and one man who needs acknowledgment after yesterday is Michael Keane.
Michael Keane continues fine season for Everton against Chelsea
Everton v Manchester United - Premier League
Photo by James Gill – Danehouse/Getty Images
Pretty much every single player played well against Chelsea.
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Since the game ended though, most of the praise has gone the way of Beto, James Garner and Ndiaye.
Jordan Pickford has also been praised for another solid performance that included two more terrific saves.
But Michael Keane deserves his flowers for the role he played in yesterday’s win.
Michael Keane vs Chelsea
Touches – 62
Passes completed – 41/46 (89%)
Duels won – 6/8 (75%)
Defensive actions – 12
Sofascore data indicates that no player in the game made more than his 12 defensive actions. Nine of those were clearances, and three were tackles.
Keane, who had 62 touches in the contest, also used the ball really well, completing 41/46 (89%) passes.
There was also an impressive moment just before the second goal by Beto, where he marauded forward with the ball out of defence, getting Everton on the front foot.
Keane had featured against Arsenal last weekend and played well, but some had wondered if he might have dropped out against Chelsea if James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite were fit to play.
Tarkowski did come back in, but Branthwaite started on the bench against Chelsea, allowing Keane the chance to impress.
And that he did.
What a win at Hill Dickinson Stadium! 💥
Everton fans, is that the best Toffees performance of the season?! Let us know your thoughts on that stunning victory…
A custom image showing the final score between Everton and Chelsea.
It is an extremely healthy situation for Moyes that all four centre-backs are in great form, with just a couple of months of the season remaining.
And on Keane, Everton surely have to be thinking about contract extension talks soon.
While he is not the future of this backline, Keane has clearly shown he is someone worth keeping around for another season.
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