Everton so close to passing first true away test in 18 months

After 18 long months of almost exclusively empty stadia, away days are back, with all the challenges and that intimidation that come with it. Everton came close to passing the test at Leeds but will rue some slack defending and missed chances.

Leeds United 2 - 2 Everton

After 18 long months of almost exclusively empty stadia, away days are back. That means a much-anticipated return for thousands of Evertonians to the incomparable experience of travelling the length and breadth of England to cheer on the Blues from packed away ends. It also returns to the players, however, the challenges of playing teams in their own arenas, replete once more with their own raucous, baying faithful and all the noise and intimidation that comes with it.

Everton won 11 times on the road last season in 18 games played in empty grounds (the 19th was at Manchester City in front of 10,000 where they were humiliated in Carlo Ancelotti’s last match in charge); there is almost no way they will win that many this season but they could have repeated the result they achieved at Elland Road earlier this year had Dominic Calvert-Lewin been more clinical at one end and the defence been more resolute at the other.

As it was, Rafael Benitez had to be content with a point, again nothing to be sniffed at in the context of Leeds United’s first Premier League match in front of a full house since 2004, but he and his players will feel disappointed they didn’t come away with all three points.

The travelling Blues will, no doubt, feel the same way but they will have been encouraged by another performance that suggests Benitez’s Everton are a lot more effective going forward than the version that struggled in that respect so often last term under Ancelotti. Calvert-Lewin played despite an ongoing toe problem, scored an excellent penalty but might have put the game beyond Leeds just before the hour mark. Abdoulaye Doucouré again revelled in his more box-to-box role, picking up an assist and almost bagging a stoppage-time winner via a heavy deflection. But it was Demarai Gray who further underlined what a bargain buy he could be by grabbing his first goal for Everton.

If he added nothing else, the former Leicester winger would have been a decent acquisition purely for his pace. Everton had so little of it last season that it felt like mana from Heaven when he arrived over the summer with plenty to prove

for himself but fairly low expectations on the part of the Blues’ faithful. Thankfully, he also adds close control, trickery and an eye for goal which he proved with another superb outing.

If things are looking good in attack — another attacking signing before the transfer deadline feels like an imperative but we’ll have to see what happens — the defence is a cause for concern, particularly without Ben Godfrey who missed a second successive game, presumably because he is isolating in line with Covid-19 protocols.

With Yerry Mina now deemed to be match fit following his late return to training following the Copa America, Benitez deployed the Colombian alongside Michael Keane in place of Mason Holgate as one of two changes to the team that started against Southampton last week. Keane’s error was a potentially damaging cause for concern against the Saints and he had another costly slip this afternoon that will only deepen the yearning for Godfrey’s immediate return.

That would come just before half-time with Everton already a goal to the good having weathered the early storm from Leeds. The Blues had the game’s first chance when Doucouré bounced a shot wide as early as the first minute but the hosts soon assumed control of possession and Raphinha put their first effort on target in the 10th minute while Richarlison’s drive at the end of a purposeful run was charged down at the other end.

Marcelo Bielsa’s men forced a couple of corners off deflected shots from distance but it was the Blues who were making better inroads into the opposition box, with Gray almost finding Calvert-Lewin’s out-stretched boot with a low cross from the right and Lucas Digne then attempting to find the striker near the penalty spot with a delivery from the left.

Calvert-Lewin was visibly tugged back by the shirt by Liam Cooper during the latter incident but it took a trip to the pitch-side monitor by referee Darren England before the penalty and yellow card were eventually awarded.

Calvert-Lewin assumed responsibility for the kick himself and buried it into Illan Meslier’s net to give Everton a 30th-minute lead.

Raphinha tried to bend one around Jordan Pickford shortly afterwards and dragged another effort even further wide in the 40th minute but Everton were pretty comfortable until Keane was caught horribly flat-footed and was unable to cut out a ball aimed at Patrick Bamford which allowed the Leeds striker to race towards goal and set up Mateusz Klich to fire past Pickford and make it 1-1.

Doucouré, alongside Gray Everton’s stand-out performer on the day, tested Meslier with a low drive and Alex Iwobi lashed an ugly half-volley over as the visitors finished the first period the stronger of the two teams.

That continued into the second half which was less than five minutes old when the Blues struck again. Doucouré played a tempting ball into the box to pick out Gray who stepped over it and appeared to have let the chance go begging but, instead, he cut a shot back across the keeper with his left foot and found the inside of far side of the goal.

Keane blocked a goal-bound volley from Raphinha after Calvert-Lewin had forced a save from Meslier as Leeds tried to respond but it was Everton who might have put the match beyond the home side had Calvert-Lewin been more clinical with a sublime through-ball from Iwobi. The pass was perfect for the England man but instead of dinking it over the advancing keeper, he fired straight at Meslier and the chance was lost.

Successive Leeds corners with around 20 minutes to go were cleared but when the second was swung back into the box, Digne and Seamus Coleman got in each other’s way, Bamford was able to lay it back to Raphinha and the Brazilian, who scored in both games against Everton last season, curled an impressive shot around the players in front of him and inside the post to level things up again.

Still, despite Leeds having more of the ball, it was Everton who looked the more likely to win it with Calvert-Lewin making a bit of a mess of a header from Iwobi’s centre and Richarlison going agonisingly close with a bending effort from the edge of the box.

The final chances fell to Doucouré and Keane in injury time but the Frenchman’s shot took a heavy deflection and Elland Road held it’s breath as it bounced past the wrong-footed keeper and wide of his right-hand post. Keane got his head on the resulting corner but could only put it into Meslier’s arms and both sides had to be content with a point.

Again, given the return of supporters and, with them, a truer reflection of the demands of playing away from home, a point was a decent result for Benitez and his men. Leeds were energetic and inventive but, in the final reckoning, failed to cause the Toffees any real problems other than the ones they created for themselves with questionable defending.

The three points eluded Everton but their directness and purpose from an attacking perspective offers hope that this will be a much more productive season than many fans believed possible. Benitez arrived with a reputation among some as a defensive, overly pragmatic coach but the Blues have exhibited a much more positive posture when they have the ball under the Spaniard so far.

Where under Ancelotti, the first instinct was to play the ball sideways and backwards, under Benitez they appear to be encouraged to go forward and, importantly, trust their own ability to do so. That faith in the players has translated into a more pleasing team to watch and with tighter defending at the back and more deadly finishing up front, might have yielded back-to-back wins to start the new season. As it is, an unbeaten start is still a positive and provides a platform from which to further build as the new boss gets his feet under the table.

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