Richard Keys shares ‘Huge’ Everton verdict live on air after win v Brentford
Richard Keys has described Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s performance against Brentford as a “huge” factor for Everton and the rest of the season.
The Toffees picked up their first Premier League win of the season in impressive fashion as they ran riot at the Brentford Community Stadium on Saturday (23 September) coming out 3-1 winners thanks to goals from Abdoulaye Doucoure, James Tarkowski and Calvert-Lewin.
While across the board it was a much-improved display from every single Everton player, Keys singled out the Toffees’ forward who has struggled with injury in the early stages of this season and the majority of the last two, as the Dyche’s side’s biggest positive.
Speaking live on air for beIN Sports (23 September) he said: “I see that as the most significant part of Everton, putting the win aside.
“Calvert-Lewin getting minutes under his belt and scoring I think is huge for them this season.”
Huge
The issue before Saturday’s game for Everton so far this season has been their lack of impetus in the final third before they thrashed Brentford they had only scored two league goals in six matches all year and that is relegation levels of form.
For the Toffees to find their way to Premier League safety again this year, they are going to need Calvert-Lewin to be the man to fire them home once again and as Keys suggested, the 26-year-old getting on the scoresheet so quickly after returning to action could be a huge weight off of his and Everton’s shoulders.
Although Beto battled hard when he was on the field against Thomas Frank’s side, he never instils the same confidence in supporters that Calvert-Lewin can when he’s baring down on goal and keeping him fit could be the difference between the Toffees playing in the Championship or the Premier League next season.
Despite Beto’s wastefulness in front of goal, his hold-up play was superb against the Bees and he does seem like the sort of forward who could create an incredibly effective partnership with Calvert-Lewin, should Dyche opt to play the two strikers together.
But the important thing for Toffees fans to focus on is the fact they are finally up and running in the league this season and arguably their most important player has got through another cameo without picking up an injury.
In other Everton news, Doucoure led the way in our player ratings while Beto continued to struggle against Brentford