15 January 2025
Everton 0 Aston Villa 1
David Moyes returned for his second stint as Toffees’ manager as his side welcomed Aston Villa to Goodison Park. The Scot has been tasked with ensuring Everton secure their Premier League status as they have been drawn into another relegation battle. Unai Emery’s side are focussed on a top four spot, as they enjoy their return to European competition once again this season.
The visitors arrived in confident mood and started on the front foot. As the hosts struggled stringing passes together, Rogers picked the ball up outside the box. He cut inside and looked to bend a shot into the far corner but Pickford made a great save at full-stretch to deny him. It was becoming a reoccurring theme that he was having to keep his side in games.
Everton fans were happy to see the new manager appointed, hoping it would see a change of fortunes. Sadly on the pitch, nothing seemed to have changed. Young looked to play a back pass to his keeper but the underhit effort set Watkins clean through on goal. The England striker only had Pickford to beat but sent his shot wide of the target.
Watkins was being linked to big clubs all around Europe last season with his red-hot form but it seems to have eluded him this campaign. He had lost his starting place to Duran before a sending-off saw the Columbian suspended. This was a big chance for the striker to send a message to his manager that he should be first-choice in his side.
Mykolenko then swung a superb pass in behind the defence to Calvert-Lewin. The Toffees’ striker took the bouncing ball on his chest before dragging his shot narrowly wide of the far post. To be fair, if Ollie Watkins thinks he is having a bad season in front of goal, seeing the Everton striker in full-flow should do his confidence no end of good.
The hosts continued to push forward as Doucoure fed the ball to Harrison wide on the edge of the box. He lifted a ball over the defence and Calvert-Lewin pulled it out of the air with a great first touch. As Martinez looked to close him down, he couldn’t sort his feet out and scuffed a shot past the Villa keeper. Fortunately for the visitors, Kamara was covering and cleared the ball off the line.
Rogers continued to cause problems in the final third of the pitch. His close control and skill saw him get a shot off in the box but he could not find a way through the sea of blue shirts. The ball broke to Ramsey, he took one touch to control it on his thigh before firing a shot off at goal. It narrowly missed the far post with Pickford beaten. It was a big chance wasted by Emery’s side.
After some rousing team talks during the interval, the visitors seemed to take it up a gear as they looked to unlock the Everton defence. Rogers spotted the run of Watkins as he peeled off his marker. He threaded the ball through and the striker slotted it past Pickford to break the deadlock as the away end erupted.
The game was quite an even contest but The Toffees’ lack of a clinical finisher was there for all to see. Each time they miss an opportunity the camera pans onto Moyes on the touchline with his head in his hands in disbelief. Even at this early stage of ‘the second coming’ he must be able to see that the club have three forwards who couldn’t score in a brothel with a barrel full of fifties.
It is unlikely that he is going to have money to spend in the January transfer window as Everton were supposed to have been one of the clubs who came very close to facing PSR charges but escaped any further penalties. Moyes is likely to have only the current squad to work with until the summer at the earliest.
Moyes’ side continued to create half-chances in this game but on one occasion Lindstrom’s header was poor and he really should have scored. Towards the latter stages of the game he turned provider as he played it into the path of Calvert-Lewin some seven yards from goal. He hit his effort on the half-volley and skied it over the bar. Their problems summed up in one moment.
The problem for The Toffees is the thing that they need most is one of the most-coveted commodities in football, a goal scorer. If they are able to add anyone to the squad Moyes will have to do a serious magic trick to free up funds to persuade someone to come and join their relegation fight. Maybe they would have been better targeting Potter for the role instead.
Aston Villla held on for the win to see them move up to seventh in the table, just three points the final Champions League spot. They travel to The Emirates on the weekend to face Mikel Arteta’s side in what will be a stern test. Everton are just two places and one point outside the bottom three and welcome a Tottenham side to Goodison Park who concede and score goals for fun this season.
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