Southampton vs Everton

Match Report

With the first real opportunity he got, Carlo Ancelotti moved to address what he had diagnosed was Everton's biggest problem in 2019-20 — namely a void of a midfield that was critically undermining the team's ability to win matches. It didn't take one of the game's most decorated coaches to figure the issue out — the middle of the pitch is fundamental to a team's effectiveness going forward and in terms of defence and Evertonians had long been aware of the shortcomings of a side that was depressingly one-paced and lacked genuine dynamism in that department.

So it was pleasing when Addoulaye Doucouré, Allan and James Rodriguez were all signed during the summer transfer window of 2020 and the early results appeared to signal a night-and-day shift in the Blues' posture. That was until all three new signings spent spells on the sidelines with injury, Jean-Philippe Gbamin suffered relapse after relapse and those left still standing represented a continuation of the very problems Ancelotti had been trying to resolve.

Gylfi Sigurdsson may not have kicked a ball this season, Gbamin looks likely to join the ranks of expensive Goodison flops, Tom Davies may never reach the heights hoped but André Gomes may be the most crushing disappointment of them all. A potential future star for his country when he made a high-profile, big money move from Valencia to Barcelona, the Portuguese's career has been in decline ever since.

His star turn against Brentford in the FA Cup a fortnight ago offered hope that he might be able to seize an opportunity for redemption under a new manager but, instead, his maddening inconsistency remains the salient feature of his continued membership of Everton's squad. It's unfortunate, because with Allan as the only other fit central midfielder at the club apart from Donny van de Beek, the Blues really need him, today more so than ever.

At St Mary's, Frank Lampard felt compelled to withdraw Allan at half-time after picking up a booking with less than 15 minutes gone. With the match in the balance at 0-0, the manager didn't want to run the risk of the Brazilian picking up a second yellow and turned to Gomes for the second half.

Unfortunately, the substitute had only been on the field for eight minutes when he dithered on an admittedly poor pass from Michael Keane, was robbed of possession in a dangerous area and within seconds, Southampton had scored the first of the two goals they would score on what was another chastening away day for Everton.

It provided the starkest of contrasts from a week ago when Lampard's men comprehensively dismantled Leeds and it leaves the team back in the doldrums and uncomfortably close to the bottom of the table as they prepare for the visit of champions Manchester City next Saturday.

And yet for 15 minutes, it looked for all the world as Lampard had helped them turn the corner. Vibrant and purposeful, Everton took control of this match from the kick-off against one of the Premier League's form teams and might have been ahead inside five minutes.

Richarlison will rue a vital moment with less than 90 seconds gone when the ball broke to him off Seamus Coleman around 12 yards out but the bobbled off his foot before he could rap it goal-wards.

Two minutes later, Everton's players were baying for what looked to be a nailed-on penalty when Oriol Romeu clearly handled a cross from the right but in waving play on, referee Andy Madley put the onus on Video Assistant Referee, Andre Marriner, to prove he had made a clear and obvious error in regard to the ever-shifting regulations around handball and the latter went with the status quo.

Still, the visitors retained the upper hand even if the way they were opened up in the sixth minute that required Jordan Pickford to save from Armando Broja was a portent of what was to come through what would become a black hole of an Everton midfield in the second period.

The game changed irrevocably when Allan was booked for another of his needless lunges. This one caught Kyle Walker-Peters near the halfway line and the Brazilian was left walking that tightrope on a yellow card until he was hooked at the break. Everton never recovered their composure and by the end only Pickford and Richarlison could claim to have come away with any credit from another demoralising defeat.

So impressive last weekend, Van de Beek struggled to consistently find a blue shirt, Dominic Calvert-Lewin was ineffectively and anonymous without service in the box, Anthony Gordon had a day to forget and there was to be no repeat of the superb outings from Jonjoe Kenny and Seamus Coleman down the flanks.

Instead, a succession of opportunities followed for Southampton, the first coming when Allan barged Armstrong over just outside the box and Pickford palmed James Ward-Prowse's free-kick behind superbly before comfortably saving from Mohamed Elyounoussi in the 26th minute.

Six minutes later, Ward-Prowse delivered a low cross into the six-yard box that Tino Livramento touched on from close range but Pickford made an excellent reaction save to keep it out. A minute after that, Broja was in on goal again but Pickford was equal to his attempt to fire the ball across him and the striker had one more chance shortly afterwards when he sold Kenny and cut back inside but Michael Keane charged his effort down.

Walker-Peters went closer to anyone to finding the net in the first period when he grazed the outside of the post with a low drive while Everton had evaporated as an attacking force by the time the referee blew the whistle for half-time.

Gomes's introduction for Allan installed in defensive midfield a player who has repeatedly proved to be a liability in that role and so it proved in the 53rd minute after Everton had had the ball in the net but seen the goal chalked off for a clear offside against Richarlison.

Keane put Gomes into trouble with a highly questionable short pass but the Portuguese mis-controlled it, was pitifully slow in trying to reclaim and was clattered off the ball which was worked across the box by Adams to Armstrong to then place a low shot inside the post and beyond Pickford's despairing dive.

Alex Iwobi, who had started brightly but, like his team-mates, faded badly, had a chance to test Frazer Forster in the Saints' goal almost immediately but elected not to shoot and the move ended with Gomes slicing awkwardly off target from 20-odd yards out.

Ward-Prowse and Che Adams almost combined three minutes later when the former chipped a ball over the top but the striker couldn't get enough on it to guide it past Pickford before Armstrong fired a shot narrowly over the bar and Elynoussi somehow headed over at the far post with the goal at his mercy from another Ward-Prowse free-kick.

Lampard threw Andros Townsend on for Iwobi and then Dele Alli for Anthony Gordon but it was Southampton who looked the more likely to score next. Walker-Peters had another shot that took a nick off Mason Holgate's heel but Pickford was able to gather and the full-back then burned Seamus Coleman before testing the England keeper again 12 minutes from time.

Then, after Broja had despatched the ball across the face of goal and then been replaced by Shane Long, the substitute popped up to jump higher than Coleman to meet a deep cross from the right and plant a header back across goal and inside the post to wrap things up for Ralph Hasenà¼ttl's men. Naturally, it was the Irish international's first goal in two years.

Lampard lamented his team's inconsistency after the game, a trait that has dogged them for a long time and to a debilitating degree this season, but the root of the team's ills lies in that midfield which desperately needs the return of Doucouré's legs and power.

Without the extra option he offers, the Blues are gallingly open, vulnerable defensively and it's been made abundantly clear that the manager cannot rely on Gomes — at least not away from home and especially not in any kind of defensive holding role. With Gbamin out of favour, it leads one to the conclusion that despite his tender years and inexperience, Tyler Onyango surely cannot be any worse.

This result and display will have given the new boss yet more to chew over as he tries to fashion a winning side out of what he inherited from Rafael Benitez but he will hopefully have learned that Everton's parlous position now requires team selections based on players' natural positions and that an excellent display one week is no guarantee of a repeat display next. Lampard needs to put his strongest team out for every League match now until safety is assured.

Lyndon Lloyd

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Matchday Updates

Storm Eunice permitting, Everton travel south for this weekend's Premier League clash with Southampton hoping to build on the superb performance against Leeds that handed Frank Lampard his first Premier League victory as the Blues' manager.

Everton beat the Yorkshire club handily in front of a raucously partisan Goodson crowd last Saturday but must now find the inspiration to win away from home in the League for what would be only the second time this season.

That solitary victory on the road came on their last visit to the south coast when they beat Brighton in late August. Since then they've picked up just two points from nine away games, the last of which was that dispiriting 3-1 defeat at Newcastle United.

Lampard's men are unlikely to face as hostile a crowd at St Mary's as they did at St James's Park but they face arguably more difficult opponents on the pitch. Southampton have struck a good vein of form in recent weeks and have moved themselves up to 10th in the table with some impressive performances and results.

Since losing heavily to Arsenal in mid-December, the Saints have lost just once, 3-1 at Wolves, and have held both Manchester clubs to 1-1 draws, beaten Tottenham 3-2 in North London and progressed to the FA Cup Fifth Round.

Ralph Hasenhà¼ttl appears to have got Southampton into a groove that maximises the talents of James Ward-Prowse and in Che Adams and Armando Broja he has two different but complimentary forwards who will be a handful for the expected defensive pairing of Michael Keane and Mason Holgate.

However, their narrow extra-time win over Coventry in the fourth round of the Cup demonstrated their vulnerability to high balls played directly into the box and that may play into the hands of Dominic Calvert-Lewin who is expected to start again up front after coming through 72 minutes against Leeds.

Demarai Gray will be absent, however, as he recovers from the hip problem he suffered during the first half of the defeat at Newcastle. It was hoped that it would be a minor issue that he could get over quite quickly but he won't travel with the team to St Mary's, though Lampard is hopeful that he could be available for the visit of Manchester City next weekend.

There was better news, however, concerning Abdoulaye Doucouré who has also been sidelined recently with a groin injury picked up at Villa Park last month. He had been expected to be out until early March but his return to training today offers hope that he, too, could be fit for next Saturday.

Meanwhile, Ben Godfrey's recovery continues in promising fashion, with the manager indicating that the defender is "maybe two or three weeks away" but Yerry Mina's return date is further out.

One player who will be available to face Saints is Vitalii Mykolenko who is now clear of Covid-19 restrictions having missed the last two fixtures after returning a positive test for the coronavirus. Given how well Jonjoe Kenny performed last weekend, it's not a given that the Ukrainian will walk back into the team, though.

Lampard could be tempted to go with an unchanged line-up and reward the players, which would mean Dele Alli starting on the bench again, Alex Iwobi keeping his place in the side and Seamus Coleman continuing at right back following his scoring exploits last time out.

Hasenhà¼ttl will be without Alex McCarthy and Nathan Tella but should be able to welcome back Mohamed Elyounoussi, Nathan Redmond and Jan Bednarek from knocks.

With Southampton being a very effective footballing side, one which dismantled Everton under Carlo Ancelotti in this fixture last season, this will be a stern examination of Lampard's charges and a measure of his progress with the team in the early days of his tenure, particularly with respect to the their performance at Newcastle.

This time he should have Donny van de Beek in the starting XI and have Calvert-Lewin up front to act as a foil for Richarlison so he will feel more confident of getting something from this game.

Lampard stressed in his presser that there is much more work to be done despite the optimism generated by the win over Leeds and his caution is prudent given that with this tricky fixture and games against Manchester City and Tottenham, it's possible that the next three fixtures could yield a very slender return in terms of points.

Nevertheless, the new boss will be focused on measured improvement and winning as many games at home as he can to ensure the club's top-flight safety is secured fairly comfortably.

In that sense, a point would be a decent return against tricky opponents but a win would help propel the Toffees further away from the bottom three, close the gap on the Saints and offer further hope of a solid mid-table finish this season.

Kick-off: 3pm, Saturday, 19 February, 2022
Referee: Andy Madley
VAR: Andre Marriner
Last Time: Southampton 2 -0 Everton

Predicted Line-up: Pickford, Coleman, Holgate, Keane, Mykolenko, Allan, Van de Beek, Iwobi, Gordon, Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin

Lyndon Lloyd

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