There was a stat doing the rounds on social media that painted an impressive picture for Everton despite weeks of despair for the Merseyside club.
The Toffees, who succumbed to a 3-1 loss to Manchester City, managed eight shots against the Premier League champions at Goodison Park, the most Pep Guardiola’s side have faced in a league game since November 2015.
Everton had eight shots on target against Man City – that’s the most a side has managed in a Premier League game against #MCFC since November 2015. #MOTD pic.twitter.com/cZ0bioXz1J
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) September 28, 2019
Indeed, that quite incredible stat just goes to show how much courage Everton showcased against the Cityzens on Saturday night. Yet despite impressing, the performance does not paper over the cracks for Marco Silva for what has so far been a disappointing season for the Premier League side.
Three defeats on the bounce is still a poor record for a club like Everton, and although most pundits and next-to-all supporters had no confidence in the Toffees pulling off a result against Man City, it is still telling that Silva’s side were unable to get not even a single point from this statistical-breaking match that nobody could have predicted before kick-off.
The result now sees Everton slump to 15th in the league table after seven games, and with the likes of Burnley and West Ham coming next for the Toffees, it will be a true testament of their character if they are able to keep up the level of fight and spirit they had against City against either of their upcoming league opponents.
Everton’s performance against City didn’t solve a thing for them in the table, yet if they are able to build on this confidence-boosting excursion into their next few Premier League matches, the Merseyside club will able to escape the clutches of the bottom half of the table before it becomes a real problem later on in the season.