Everton Manager Sean Dyche during the Premier League match between Leicester City and Everton at King Power Stadium on September 21, 2024 in Leicester, United Kingdom. (Photo by Plumb Images/Leicester City FC via Getty Images)
Sean Dyche has called on his attacking stars to play their role in helping to prevent leads from slipping away from his Everton side. Stephy Mavididi’s second half equaliser prevented the Blues from a vital win over Leicester City and marked the fourth consecutive match in which Everton had failed to turn a lead into a win.
Dyche said the focus may be on his defenders but stressed that their job would be made easier if chances were taken at the other end. He pointed to the extent Everton’s excellent clean sheet record helped his team last season and suggested now was the time for the other end of the pitch to help in a similar way.
Everton were the better side for much of this match but failed to land a killer blow after Iliman Ndiaye’s early opener. Jesper Lindstrom and Dominic Calvert-Lewin were among the players who had opportunities that could have boosted their side’s advantage.
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Missed chances at key moments were crucial in the league matches against Bournemouth and Aston Villa, during which Everton blew two goal leads, and the midweek Carabao Cup defeat to Southampton, a game Everton also scored first in.
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Asked whether he believed the display at Leicester suggested his players were learning from previous games, Dyche said: “Well, I think there were clear signs. If you are away from home in the Premier League, it’s difficult anyway. But if you’ve been away from home in the Premier League and you’ve only faced two shots against you on target, then I think that’s a pretty clear sign there was good defensive responsibility from the team.”
Last season, Everton’s success was underpinned by defensive resilience while the side struggled for goals. This season, the likes of Calvert-Lewin have been in good form but not ruthless enough to lead the side to victory.
Dyche said: “The thing about defending is that a lot of it is scoring goals. When you’ve got a clinical edge and you score goals, it changes the mentality for defending. I was a defender and I think we are the first to question defenders, we are the first to question set pieces, and things like that. But what about the people at the other end? What about the chances that keep going? What about them chances? What about the moment of truth? What about the bit of calmness to go and finish, to go and pass it?
“And I mentioned that to the players afterwards. I said there has to be a dual responsibility. You can’t just be looking at the defending side all the time because last season the defending side was absolutely terrific. So yes, we have to correct that. But sometimes the way to crack that is the attacking players. You go: ’Right, I’m going to take that responsibility. I’ll score a goal. When that chance comes my way, I’ll make sure that it goes in.’ So I think it’s a team effort, it’s the team belief in each other, when we’re attacking, go and score a goal to take the pressure off the defence. When defending, let’s give the attacker the chance to score a goal.”
