Everton’s strange coaching decision pays off as breathtaking Premier League statistic emerges
Everton have made plenty of changes to their backroom staff over the past year.
On top of David Moyes’ arrival at Everton, the Toffees have overseen multiple departures and arrivals from their non-playing staff.
In the summer alone, Kevin Thelwell left Goodison Park, with numerous others following.
However, despite some of these changes being controversial, they have seemingly paid off on the field.
Only Arsenal have higher xG from set-pieces than Everton this season
Another Everton departure in the summer was Charlie Adam.
The former Liverpool and Blackpool midfielder was added to the coaching staff shortly after Moyes’ appointment as a set-piece coach.
However, Adam elected to leave Everton in the summer as he looked to revive his management career.
Since then, Everton have remained one of the few Premier League teams not to have a set-piece coach, in what seemed to be a strange decision. However, this has clearly paid off.
According to Opta, only Arsenal have produced higher xG from attacking set-pieces this season.
| Top five teams from set-pieces in the 2025/26 Premier League season | xG created from set-pieces | Goals |
| Arsenal | 3.48 | 5 |
| Everton | 3.17 | 1 |
| Chelsea | 3.04 | 5 |
| Crystal Palace | 3.00 | 2 |
| Manchester United | 2.74 | 1 |
Defensively, Everton have also impressed from dead balls, only conceding a 0.86 xG, the fifth-lowest in the division, and have yet to concede from a set-play.
Therefore, Moyes’ decision not to bring in a set-piece coach in the summer is clearly paying off so far.
Whatever the Scotsman is doing on the training pitch is turning the Toffees into a formidable side from dead balls.
How good are Everton from set-pieces?
While Everton have clearly made chances from set-pieces, there is still work to be done.
Stats from Opta show that, the Toffees have only scored one goal this season from a 3.17xG.
This will need to change over the coming months, with players such as Michael Keane and James Tarkowski expected to step up from corners and find the back of the net if the chance presents itself.
If they can do this, set-plays could become a secret weapon for the Toffees going forward, and could help them win multiple extra points.
Hopefully, Moyes is able to iron out this issue before teams figure out how to defend Everton’s dead balls.
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