Sean Dyche claimed fine margins were to blame for his side’s defeat at Manchester United but with Abdoulaye Doucoure’s absence creating a massive void in the centre of the park, the Everton manager must now assess whether the 4-4-2 formation that was his tactical bedrock, forging his reputation for almost a decade at Burnley can be deployed effectively with the Blues.
After the 2-0 defeat at Old Trafford, which could have easily been a far heavier reversal, costly both in terms of both goal difference and morale had it not been for the brilliance in the Everton goal of England number one Jordan Pickford, Dyche said: “Too many stepped slightly off their performance levels today. There were a number who played very well but being slightly off is enough when you come to places like this.”
That might have been the case but the numbers suggest that the gap between the sides was rather more emphatic. Although they only lead 1-0 at the break, the 21 shots that Manchester United had against Everton in the first 45 minutes was the most on record in the first half of a Premier League game since Opta started collating such data back in the 2003/04 season.
