{"id":1105181,"date":"2019-09-06T17:19:48","date_gmt":"2019-09-06T16:19:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/?p=1105181"},"modified":"2019-09-06T17:19:48","modified_gmt":"2019-09-06T16:19:48","slug":"five-things-weve-learned-about-everton-in-2019-20-so-far","status":"publish","type":"features","link":"https:\/\/www.squawka.com\/en\/features\/five-things-weve-learned-about-everton-in-2019-20-so-far\/","title":{"rendered":"Five things we’ve learned about Everton in 2019\/20 so far"},"content":{"rendered":"

After back-to-back eighth-place finishes and 24 trophyless years, Everton’s aims this season are undoubtedly to return to European football and land some silverware.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thus far, the signs are good, with the Toffees sitting in sixth having taken six points from two home games, as well as sealing their place in the third round of the League Cup.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/audioboom.com\/posts\/7360490-squawka-talker-special-champions-league-2019-20-preview<\/p>\n

But the season is still very young. If Everton are to hit their targets, consistency will be key. After all, the top sides in the Premier League churn out points for fun and hurdle cup ties as if they weren’t there.<\/p>\n

So, are Everton on target? What have we learned about them so far?<\/p>\n

Read on to find out.<\/p>\n

1. They’re still formidable at home<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The way Everton salvaged some form of respectability at the end of the 2018\/19 campaign was quite remarkable, taking 13 points from five consecutive home games against Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Man Utd and Burnley without conceding a single goal. This is the Everton that used to cause so many problems for the big guns when they were perceived as “plucky” under David Moyes, and the one which has been missing pretty much since the second season of the Roberto Martinez era.<\/p>\n

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Everton’s Richarlison (obscured) celebrates scoring his side’s first goal of the game with teammates during the Premier League match at Goodison Park, Liverpool.<\/p><\/div>\n

But a combination of hard work from supporters groups, the Z-Cars Siren and Silva further embracing the fans and culture around the club has generated a real hotbed of an atmosphere, reawakening Goodison Park and making it a nightmare for visiting sides once more, continuing into this season with wins over Watford and Wolves.<\/p>\n

Of course, the crowd only counts for a fraction of the work required and it would be unfair to laud the Toffees’ home form without giving Silva credit. Since the Merseyside derby on March 3, no Premier League side has kept more clean sheets at home than Everton (6), while they rank third in the division for tackles (131) and duels won (418) on home turf during that time. 2019\/20 has only seen this improve, with Everton topping the Premier League for duels won at home (147) so far. It’s this continued dominance and ferocity at Goodison Park which has seen the Blues to sixth place after four games.<\/p>\n

2. But away day woes persist<\/strong><\/h2>\n

But for all their impressive home form in recent months, you must remember that Everton only managed to scrape an eight-place finish last season. Without a doubt, that is down to their away form, which continues to cripple them this season<\/p>\n

Silva’s side have managed just one point from two away games so far, drawing 0-0 with Crystal Palace on the opening day before a hugely disappointing 2-0 defeat at Villa Park in late August. Two games, one point, no goals. In fact, their away form since the start of the 2017\/18 campaign reads dreadfully for Evertonians, with just eight wins in their last 40 games on the road.<\/p>\n

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It’s tough to really pinpoint where the Blues fall down on their travels \u2013 they rank joint-third for possession won in the final third away from home (11) so far this term and sit only behind Manchester City (65.56%) in terms of average possession on the road with a 64.73% share as yet. They’re still aggressively winning the ball back and maintain control once they do so.<\/p>\n

One area where Silva’s side really do fall down on the road, though, is finishing chances. During the defeat to Aston Villa, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Theo Walcott both missed glorious chances right when Everton were on the front foot and had they scored, the Toffees would surely have gone on to take at least a point home from the Midlands. In fact, so far this season, no side has a worse shooting accuracy (excluding blocks) away from home than Everton’s 28.57%, putting just four of their 14 shots on target.<\/p>\n

If Everton are to truly test their strength against the upper echelons of the Premier League, they simply must be more cold-blooded and ruthless. Man City do it, Liverpool do it. That’s what sets them apart.<\/p>\n