Everton are yet to win a single Premier League game in 2024 and they will be frustrated after managing a 1-1 draw against Crystal Palace on Monday night (19 February).
After a drab first half, the Toffees found themselves in the backfoot when Jordan Ayew scored for the Eagles. Everton put up a strong fight in the last 20 minutes and got the equalizer through Amadou Onana.
Jason MacAteer has rightly pointed out that the Toffees tried to play safe as they didn’t want to lose the game, but at home, they should have played with more vigor and energy.
Sean Dyche certainly felt that too. He said to EvertonTV after the game that they were “too timid and played backward too much”.
The Toffees boss revealed what he said to Everton players at half-time. The performance was nowhere any acceptable level, and his pep-talk probably have given the impetus to fight and pick up a valuable point.
“I spoke to them at half-time and said, ‘Look, the expectation changes when you play these games, you can feel it in the stadium’. You have to play up to that,” said Dyche.
Everton badly need to win games
While all eyes will be on what the Premier League decides with Everton’s appeal, which could have massive ramifications, Everton need to accept that they have been very poor recently.
The Toffees appealed against the deduction of 10 points for breaching FFP rules, and they are expecting a verdict this week. Jamie Carragher said on Sky Sports that there is a belief that Everton could get some points back which could be of great help for them as they look to stay up in the Premier League.
On the pitch, the Toffees need to do a lot better. They have been mostly scoring from set pieces. Their overall performances have been disappointing since mid-December. They haven’t won in their last eight Premier League games, and the situation needs to change immediately.
