View: DCL & Richarlison link-up requires more work with Everton duo on different wavelengths
Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison are the two great beacons of hope for an Everton European charge but they may need to work on their strike partnership.
The Blues were knocked out of the FA Cup by Manchester City on Saturday and the 2-0 defeat deprived Carlo Ancelotti’s side of a trip to Wembley for a semi-final encounter.
It took 84 minutes for Ilkay Gundogan to break the deadlock at Goodison Park and it was not our worst display of the season by a long chalk.
However we have now scored just once in our last three matches and we have only scored two in a game once in the last seven (v Liverpool on February 20).
Richarlison came into some form but he is now goalless in his last three while Calvert-Lewin has just one in his last six.
We think the duo need to build a more formidable partnership to spearhead our attack on the European places during the rest of the current campaign.
At Goodison News we have taken a look at how their failure to spark a connection v City saw our attacking efforts falter at times.
Take a look below for the first example of this.
It is a long hopeful ball launched forward to Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison makes a dart in behind the defence hoping to latch onto his header.
The black arrow shows his actual movements but as you can see he is facing the ball and thus should recognise that his strike partner is not going to be able to get the required distance to flick it over the defence.
Calvert-Lewin has actually nodded it just behind him expecting his teammate to be in close proximity but the Brazilian is way off with his intentions and we cede possession easily.
One could perhaps make an argument for Richarlison there in that he was showing some positivity in trying to reach the ball in behind the defence and fashion a goalscoring opportunity.
The finger is firmly pointed at him in this next clip, though, as he shapes to shoot from distance.
As you can see above Calvert-Lewin has made a run in between the defenders and if Richarlison gets his head up he can slip the England international through on goal for a one-on-one.
But he opts for a wild long-distance effort and DCL lets his frustration known with his head craned upwards.
This next example is once again reflective of Richarlison and his inability to find his partner.
DCL has his back to the defence and there is a simple ‘wall pass’ to be made where Richarlison can give a one-two and run around the defence to create a better angle.
However he tries to go alone and pays the cost for this selfishness as he is forced into a backwards pass.
These last two clips reflect worse on DCL as he fails to be in sync with Richarlison’s pressing.
Granted, it is late in the game and he was surely tired after a tough encounter.
But he needed to follow Richarlison’s example and press as a pair to stop Manchester City from initiating an attack.
The vast space allows the ball to be played inside and DCL is left chasing Aymeric Laporte’s shadow as the centre-back saunters down to the Everton 18-yard box before eventually shooting.
The ball ricochets to Gundogan who opens the scoring to plant a dagger into Everton hopes of an FA Cup shock.
This was obviously one of the most difficult matches of the season and we do not want to be too heavy on our brilliant forward duo – they have won us enough games this season to have credit in the bank.
But these examples show that there is still work to be done on their partnership if we are to go to the next level.
DCL has zero assists to his name this season while Richarlison only has three and just one of those was for the 24-year-old.
Clearly their chemistry on the pitch needs to go up a notch.
In other Everton news, ex-PL referee reflects on past Duncan Ferguson battles.