In their season opener at
Goodison Park, Everton took a while to feel their way into the game against a
resolute Watford side. Striker Romelu Lukaku only had 14 touches of the ball in
the first half and it took until 76 minutes into the game for Ross Barkley to
break to seal for Everton, equalising after Miguel Layun’s opener after 13
minutes. Late goals from Watford’s Odion Ighalo and Everton’s Arouna Kone ended
the game at 2-2, probably a fair result at the end of a good contest between
the two sides. Roberto Martinez will be looking for an improvement however
after disappointing campaign last season as they finished 11th. A
lot of pressure will be resting on 21-year-old Ross Barkley’s shoulders as he
looks to translate expectation into reality, so he will be happy to have opened
his account against the Hornets.
Everton faced a tough away fixture against last season’s surprise package, Southampton, in their second game of the season, but impressed greatly throughout with exciting football. They walked away 3-0 winners, which will please the Toffee fans who made the long trip down south to get behind their team. A first half Lukaku brace set Everton underway and the victory was secured late on as Barkley grabbed his second of the season. Martinez’s side executed their fast counter-attack style of play as they broke away from a Southampton corner with Lukaku dispatching an Arouna Kone cross after 22 minutes. Tim Howard had a strong game between the sticks, fending off any Southampton threat.
As they seek to improve on last
season’s uncharacteristic performance, Everton look to be well underway in this
campaign. Barkley has impressed early on and will need to continue to do so
moving forward. It will be important for the Toffees to keep hold of England
centre-back John Stones as Chelsea send further offers their way.
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