Sean Dyche deserves more credit for getting Everton firing to top Premier League xG rankings
In the last couple of seasons, Everton and their struggle for goals has been consistently documented as the Toffees have struggled to Premier League safety.
The 2022/23 campaign saw them score fewer goals than all three relegated sides, with only Wolves finding the net less often than the Blues under the management of both Sean Dyche and Frank Lampard and while the problem hasn’t been completely solved, things are heading in the right direction.
Everton headed into the October international break on a high having beaten Bournemouth 3-0 to pick up their first win at Goodison Park since the final day of last season, but following the game Dyche was keen to praise the Toffees’ expected goals record more than anything else.
Speaking to BBC Sport (7 October) he said: “At last the xG that I’ve been talking about, it pays us back. I said to the players you’ve got to keep doing it, the more you statistically do them things in games, it will pay you back. But of course, you’ve still got players who have to take your chances and they did today.”
According to a report from the Liverpool Echo (11 October), Dyche’s side topped the Premier League’s expected goal rankings for last week’s fixtures, their figure of 3.1 xG the highest in the division by some way ahead of Fulham’s 2.22 and Tottenham’s 2.18.
This isn’t a one-off either, Everton registered the third highest the week before their win over the Cherries where despite losing 2-1 to Luton Town, Dyche’s side managed an xG of 3.23, only bettered by West Ham’s 3.33 and Arsenal’s 3.38.
The difference between the two matches was the Blues’ ability to convert their chances, with the win over Bournemouth representing a much more clinical display than the wasteful finishing that was on show during the defeat to the Hatters.
On a positive note for both Dyche and Everton supporters, those stats show that the Toffees are consistently creating the chances to win matches against teams around them in the bottom half of the Premier League and during home games.
What now needs to be found is a way to ensure that more often than not, the Blues perform in front of goal as they did against Bournemouth rather than Luton. Hopefully, getting that all-important first home win would have boosted the players’ confidence and helped them repeat their heroics when fixtures get back underway.
Should the Toffees produce the sort of xG that they have during the opening matches for the remainder of the campaign, Dyche will have not only solved their goal-scoring problem but he would have more than likely pushed Everton into the midtable places rather than another relegation battle.
In other Everton news, the Toffees could move to sign Kalvin Phillips if 777 Partners’ takeover is completed