In Saturday’s early kick-off, Everton recorded a 5-2 win over ten-man West Brom in a game that had absolutely everything. VAR rightly overruled referee’s assistant Darren Cann for the first Toffees goal before Kieran Gibbs produced a petulant shove in the face of James Rodriguez to get himself sent off.
At the point of Gibbs sending off the Baggies were already two goals down. West Brom boss Slaven Bilic was also shown a red card by referee Mike Dean at half-time for protesting the decision. Apart from a spirited equaliser early in the second half from Matheus Pereira the Toffees took the game by the scruff of the neck and recorded a comfortable win.
Last season’s attacking players looking dangerous
In season 2019/20 Everton’s forwards Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison were two of the highlights of the Toffees poor campaign. It is easy to forget sometimes that the pair are both just 23 years of age. Already this season they have shown their quality.
While some will say that Richarlison has not found the net yet, he played a crucial role in the win over West Brom, picking up two assists and contributing to another of the home sides goals. The Brazilian is a constant threat to the opposition defence. He also has a good understanding with his teammate too.
Last season was a vital one for Calvert-Lewin, as the former Sheffield United star finally nailed down a regular starting spot in the Toffees line-up. That is likely the main reason for his improved goal output. The young forward struggled to score post lockdown but has opened this season with four goals in two top-flight starts, including a hat-trick on Saturday. There is no doubt that he is certainly moving in the right direction at Everton.
James Rodriguez can get even better
One of the biggest football stories of the transfer window so far was James Rodriguez’s move to Everton from Real Madrid. In his two appearances for Carlo Ancelotti’s team, he has wasted little time in showing his qualities. His range of passing and quality showed against Spurs. His performance against West Brom was more tangible as he produced a goal and an assist, plus had a major hand in the Toffees fourth goal of the game.
The crazy thing is, that arguably James was not even at his best against the Baggies. He had no pre-season, yet he is still having the sort effect that top quality players have on games. If we were nit-picking he gave the ball away a few times, most notably for the Baggies first goal. However, that is a rarity the Colombian international surrendering the ball.
Promising signs for Everton
It is too early to get madly excited about any teams and Everton fans will know that their team is still a work in progress. However, there are certainly promising signs for the Merseysider’s under Ancelotti, especially after the window arrivals.
The first 20 minutes of the win over West Brom illustrated that Ancelotti and his team still need to work on the defensive side of their game. As the Baggies caused them problems. The Toffees have few worries at the other end of the pitch and look set to be a very exciting team to watch this season.
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