The fourth round of the EPL pitted the resurgent Everton against a struggling Aston Villa who were yet to score a goal in the league this season. In fact, they were also shutout in their final game last May. However, it would have been prudent for Evertonians to not be overly confident heading into the match as this has been an historically poor fixture for the Blues.
Everton headed into the game winless in their last 12 Premier League matches against Aston Villa stretching back to when Villa returned
to the Premier League in 2019-20 with nine losses and four draws. Their last win was in March 2016, a 3-1 win at Villa Park.
Importantly, for those of the half full philosophy, since the start of May, no side had won more Premier League points than Everton (16 – W5 D1 L1), and only Liverpool (14) have scored more goals than the Toffees (13).
Team News
The big news was the inclusion of Iliman Ndiaye who passed a late fitness test to make the starting 11. The good news ended there as James Garner looked to find himself at left-back with Vitalii Mykolenko absent again. However, the best part was the very strong bench at the gaffer’s disposal.
Emiliano Martinez returned in goal, while Emiliano Buendia, Lucas Digne and Lamare Bogarde also come in as Unai Emery made four changes from the side that lost to Palace. Liverpool loanee Harvey Elliott would have to wait for his Villa debut across the city from his parent club, while Jadon Sancho joined him on the bench after arriving from Manchester United on deadline day.
Match Report
The rain was pelting down as refereee Simon Hooper led the teams out with Z Cars and the roar of the Evertonians welcoming their heroes. David Moyes and Unai Emery had a lovely chat on the sideline before the kickoff. The Evertonians were up for it.
Everton controlled the ball early and when Ndiaye broke forward, his delivery was slightly behind Beto and the bid man could not sort his feet out and his effort was poor. Tyrone Mings was down after the chance and he looked very uncomfortable as the physios worked on him but he was able to continue.
Everton’s first chance was crafted on the left wing and when Grealish lobbed the ball to the back post, Beto met it and forced a good save from Martinez. Seconds later, Beto could not get the ball under control and the chance went begging.
A free kick was delivered by KDH which Keane powered over the bar. Villa were struggling to get on the ball as Everton continued to pressure the ball. Ndiaye was at it again as he wriggled his way into space but his cross was cleared. The long throw from O’Brien caused issues for Villa and Grealish volleyed the ball goalward but it was saved by Martinez.
Villa had their first period of possession but they could not break down the Everton backline. Another long ball to Beto bounced off him. Tarkowski went in hard on Rogers and the ref took his time giving the foul which infuriated Tarks and the crowd.
Pickford was then caught out when his clearance from the edge of his box landed on the boot of Buendia but he could not take advantage of the open net and shot wide. Everton turned up the pressure and had a couple of chances from Grealish and Keane on two occasions but Martinez was keeping them out.
The first yellow card was given to Matty Cash for a challenge on Grealish. With an hour to go in the match, this would make the defenders day much more difficult. Watkins had the ball on the edge of the box but his shot was nicely blocked by Keane.
Villa’s first corner was easily defended by Everton. Tielemans almost put the ball in his own net and the resulting corner saw Gueye sky the ball over the Villa goal. Two minutes of added time was announced as Iroegbunam was given a yellow card for taking down Watkins on the edge of the box. Digne set the ball down and took a quick free kick that was blocked by the Everton wall. It was the last action of the half.
Villa made one change with Tielemans being withdrawn for Guessand. A scrappy start as both teams tried to assert themselves. Garner delivered a sumptuous pass into the box but Beto couldn’t get the touch needed to break the deadlock.
Everton drove forward and some lovely interplay between KDH and Grealish saw the former Villa man add one too many passes instead of shooting. Villa broke out quickly and when Buendia shot the ball, it deflected off Tarkowski and Pickford was left watching as the ball skittered past the post. Villa were on the front foot.
Digne broke down the left and his cross was blocked by Tarkowski. The resulting corner fell to Digne but his shot was easily handled by Pickford. Ndiaye turned Digne and the former Blue was given a yellow for dragging down the winger. KDH delivered the free kick and it was Beto again who could not capitalise on another opportunity.
Everton had Villa on the ropes and several chances could not be finished with Ndiaye, O’Brien and Iroegbunam all having chances. Digne was on the ground and had a huge goose egg above his eye. Moyes had seen enough and he called Merlin Röhl to replace Tim Iroegbunam.
Grealish was taken down by Guessard but Hooper felt there was no foul. Grealish was given a card for his dissent. Buendia then followed him into the book when he took down Ndiaye with two feet in the air. That was Buendia’s last action as Harvey Elliott was brought on. Grealish delivered a great ball and Michael Keane was denied by an incredible save from Martinez.
The final 20 minutes arrived asThierno Barry prepared to enter the game. Beto received a warm response from the Evertonians for his efforts. Everton were controlling the play but it was more huff and puff. Villa brought on Malen and Lindelof for Watkins and Bogarde.
Grealish was getting on the ball more which was causing Cash lots of trouble. Villa were happy to slow the game down. Merlin Röhl decided to take a shot from distance but he must have been practicing with Gueye as it sailed over.
A great interception from Gueye allowed Barry to break forward. His shot was blocked by Mings. The resulting corner corner saw Grealish set up Garner but his shot was deflected over the bar. Everton were pushing as five minutes was announced.
The crowd went crazy when Barry went into the corner with Konza only to have Hooper give a free kick to Villa. Hooper had seen enough and blew the whistle to end the match.
Everton’s Man of the Match
James Garner: He may be playing out of position but today he neutralized the Villa attack down the right side. His contribution going forward in tandem with Grealish was encouraging if it was not ultimately fruitful. This game lacked the moments of Everton quality that we have seen this season but the play from Garner was consistent and created the chances that were ultimately spurned.
Instant Reaction
It was all huff and puff today for Everton. Lots of possession in attacking areas with an xG of 2.12 compared to Villa who had an xG of 0.3. Everton racked up 20 shots with only two on target which is very poor. Villa have been poor this season going forward which was shown in their six shots and only one on net. We didn’t get any bounces our way today but we also spurned far too many opportunities. Villa were there for the taking but we let this one go.
With two goals in two games, Beto was selected to start up top. You could not argue with the decision by Moyes. What has to be said is that the holdup play of the big Portuguese striker is poor and today, that poor touch cost the team. There is no question that he can finish but when he is on the pitch the creativity of those around him is disjointed and the flow of the team is lost.
The first half was frought with fouls being called by Simon Hooper which frustrated the players, the fans and this writer because of the inconsistency. As a referee myself, I can confirm that I can kill the flow of a game by blowing the whistle when minimal contact is made. However, the biggest issue is when a referee is inconsistent in what is called a foul and what is let go. Today, Hooper was all over the page and the game suffered for it.
Iliman Ndiaye was touch and go to be fit for this one. By the hour mark he was out of gas and with Dibling on the bench ready to go you wonder why Moyes didn’t roll the dice. Dibling would have added some pace on the right and force Villa to be aware of his speed. Grealish was being triple teamed at the end and we could not find an open player. We have to keep Ndiaye fit and taking a chance like this seems like a gamble. Not unlike Mykolenko two weeks ago, let’s hope that Moyes had the medical info he needed.
