Goodison Stats: Yerry Mina injury helps finds strongest Everton defensive partnership
Yerry Mina’s recent injury may have seen Everton accidentally find their strongest defensive partnership in Michael Keane and Ben Godfrey.
The Colombian suffered a calf injury in the first-half against Manchester City last month, subsequently missing Everton’s next three games against Liverpool, Southampton and West Brom.
However, the Blues won all three of their games without Mina in the line-up, keeping clean sheets on all three occasions with Keane and Godfrey together at the back.
Prior to the game against Liverpool, Everton’s last clean sheet came against Sheffield United on Boxing Day.
Since signing from Norwich for £20million in the summer, Godfrey has been a revelation for the Blues, often excelling in a variety of different positions for Carlo Ancelotti’s side.
Keane meanwhile has been a steady leader for Everton at the back, consistently delivering solid performances and rarely putting a foot wrong.
According to stats gathered by WyScout, Godfrey and Keane have both performed better than Mina in certain defensive areas across the season, averaging more interceptions per 90 minutes [5.84 and 6.03 respectively] than the Colombian [4.22].
Godfrey and Keane also average more clearances of the ball per 90 [3.66 and 3.85 respectively] than Mina [2.95], though the former Barcelona man trumps both of his teammates in aerial duels, loose ball duels and recoveries.
It is difficult to measure the weight that some statistics have over others, but what isn’t up for debate is the fact that Everton have undergone a minor run of form without Mina in the line-up.
Though Mina’s injury was untimely and it presents Ancelotti with less options to call upon from the bench, it might have been a silver lining by presenting Godfrey and Keane as a pairing worth exploring more often.
Godfrey has frequently played both on the left and right side of defence this season, but perhaps an extended run in the middle of defence could see the Toffees continue to prosper in their hunt for Champions League football.
In other Everton news, Ancelotti insists that Everton’s ‘really high’ team spirit couldn’t possibly be improved.