Frustrated Everton manager Sean Dyche has told his players it is time they started taking responsibility for the chances they are missing in front of goal as more failures up front contributed to their 3-1 defeat at home to West Ham.
Beto’s 56th-minute header, after he had missed the club’s first penalty of the season, put them ahead but Kurt Zouma equalised within six minutes and, having found goalkeeper Alphonse Areola in good form, conceded twice in stoppage time to Tomas Soucek and Edson Alvarez.
Problems up front have been an issue all season – only the bottom two sides Burnley and Sheffield United have scored fewer than the Toffees’ 29 – but there are signs Dyche is starting to lose patience.
“I am looking at the talent we have got and looking at the quality we have got and how we are not scoring more goals is just bizarre,” he said after a 10th game without victory.
“I can talk about the xG, I can talk about the quality, I can talk about everything but I’ve never been naive in football and you have to go and do it.
“I’ve just said to the players we have a responsibility collectively to actively go and take the chances we are creating and that is everyone.
“It is hard to correct it when it is there, right in front of your eyes. What more can we do?
“But the players have a responsibility at this football club as well as the manager and staff and we know it is a joint responsibility.”
Dropping Dominic Calvert-Lewin, without a goal in his last 21 matches, was somewhat justified by only Beto’s second league goal on an afternoon of mixed emotions for the £24million summer signing from Udinese.
But Dyche was pleased with the Portuguese’s reaction, adding: “That was what was pleasing about Beto.
“Missing a penalty is not easy, he missed a good chance in the first half but he kept going and it is great header.
“He fatigued so we had to take him off but it is another good marker from him to say ‘Look, I am ready and I want to take it on’.”
For West Ham boss David Moyes it was two wins in six days to keep his side in seventh place and chasing European qualification.
“I think the result was harsh on Everton but our goalkeeper made four or five outstanding saves,” said the Scot, on his return to his former club.
“We scored three goals at Everton, they don’t concede too many, we scored four in the week against Brentford, so we’ve done the job.
“We have come through six or seven weeks when very little has gone for us; today I don’t know if it’s the right word in that it went for us but the goalkeeper made saves which he is there to do.
“I’d have to say I’m thrilled with the win, a wee bit of a throwback, but I really enjoyed it.”
Moyes reserved special praise for his goalkeeper, adding: “He probably made the difference, his performance was terrific.
“A lot of goalkeepers get praised for different things – the use of the ball – but most people from the era I come from it is the ones who save it with their hands and stop the ball going in the net most of the time and I thought he did that really well today.”
Pochettino says VAR 'damaging' English football as Chelsea denied Villa win
Mauricio Pochettino claimed VAR is "damaging" English football after Chelsea saw a potential winning goal chalked off at the end of their 2-2 Premier League draw with Aston Villa.
Despite a bright performance, Chelsea found themselves 2-0 down at half-time on Saturday with Marc Cucurella putting through his own net before Morgan Rogers added Villa's second.
Goals from Noni Madueke and Conor Gallagher dragged Chelsea level as they penned Villa back after the break, but the Blues were enraged in stoppage time when Axel Disasi saw a potential winner ruled out.
Disasi headed home in the fifth minute of stoppage time to spark wild celebrations among the visiting Chelsea fans, only for referee Craig Pawson to disallow the goal following a pitchside VAR review, ruling Benoit Badiashile pushed Diego Carlos in the build-up.
With that incident coming just one week after Chelsea were denied a penalty in their FA Cup semi-final loss to Manchester City despite Jack Grealish appearing to handle Cole Palmer's free-kick, Pochettino has had enough.
"Everyone that was watching the game will feel disappointed. The referee said it was a foul and disallowed the goal after going to the VAR to confirm," he told TNT Sports.
"The referee is unbelievable and it's ridiculous. It is difficult to accept these types of things. In the semi-final it was handball and it was no penalty, the referee didn't check it.
"It is painful as it has damaged English football and I think Villa players and their fans didn't understand why the goal was disallowed.
"They said it was a foul and if you see the challenge… if we go into every single challenge like this and it is going to be a foul, we wouldn't finish the game with 11 players.
"We can talk about the performance or the decision – it is damaging the game."
Pochettino had no complaints about Chelsea's performance, though, as they avoided defeat for just the fourth time in 51 Premier League games when trailing by two or more goals at half-time.
The Blues previously achieved that feat in a 3-3 draw with Sheffield Wednesday in 1992, a memorable 2-2 draw with Tottenham in 2016 and another 3-3 draw with West Brom in 2020.
Chelsea racked up 21 shots to Villa's nine and put up 1.57 expected goals (xG) to the hosts' 1.1, with Nicolas Jackson and Palmer spurning glorious chances in either half.
"The performance was very good," Pochettino said. "We played really well and it is true in the first half we conceded too easily.
"To play Villa, who are fighting for the top four, I am pleased with the team. Now, we have to move on and the headlines will be about the disallowed goal."
World Cup Girlz back in the fold? Gilbert hints at return of experienced players for Brazil friendlies
For the first time in almost nine months, it seems as if Jamaica’s interim Reggae Girlz Head coach Xavier Gilbert will have members of the World Cup squad at his disposal, when they visit Brazil for a two-match friendly international series in June.
The Girlz, who first locked horns with Brazil, and lost 0-3, at the 2019 FIFA Women’s World Cup in France, went one better at last year’s global showpiece in Australia, as they not only held the South American giants to a goalless stalemate, but also ensured their elimination at the group stage.
By all indications, that performance, and by extension, the fact that the Girlz made an historic appearance in the knockout stages of the World Cup, earned them even more respect from the number 10-ranked Brazilians, who are currently in preparation for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris.
The games, scheduled for June 1 and 4, are expected to assist Brazil in their preparation, while the now 42nd-ranked Jamaicans will get a much-needed test to regain their appetite for international competition, having last sported the nationals colours against Canada last September.
Since that Olympic qualifying fixture in Canada, members of the World Cup squad withdrew their services from national representation, citing lack of payment and mistreatment from the Jamaica Football Federation (JFF), among their reasons.
While it is yet to be confirmed how many, if any, of the World Cup players will make the trip, Gilbert gave the clearest indication yet that there might be a few, as he welcomed the games, after not utilizing the last FIFA window.
“It is always important to secure games during the international window. It not only assists in exposing players, but it also ensures the team is active, which helps our rankings, and also our quality of play. Because as you know, the more we play together, especially against quality opponents, the better the team becomes, and we also get to work on different things both offensively and defensively,” Gilbert told SportsMax.TV.
“The expectation is for us to give a good account of ourselves, it has been a while since these players have played together, but the good thing is that they are actively engaged in their respective leagues in Europe and United States. So, it is not like they were inactive, and obviously, it is not the first time they will be playing together.
“So, we just have to keep things as simple or as close to what we did prior to, and during the World Cup, to make sure we are competitive. It is going to be a little bit different, but it’s not far-fetched that we can get another positive result against Brazil,” he added.
Atletico Madrid 3-1 Athletic Bilbao: Hosts close in on top-four finish
Atletico Madrid beat newly crowned Copa del Rey winners Athletic Bilbao 3-1 at home in LaLiga on Saturday as Diego Simeone's side moved a step closer to a top-four finish.
Fourth-placed Atletico moved onto 64 points and have increased their advantage over Athletic, in fifth, to six points with five games to play.
Midfielder Rodrigo de Paul put Atletico in front in the 15th minute with a goal from outside the box. After controlling an attempted clearance from the visitors, his effort dipped just under the bar as his strike deflected off one of the Athletic defenders.
Athletic levelled just before half-time through Nico Williams after Antoine Griezmann lost the ball through a careless pass.
But Angel Correa restored the lead for Atletico in the 52nd minute and later came close to scoring again.
With 10 minutes to play, away goalkeeper Unai Simon inadvertently made it 3-1 with an own goal after Samuel Lino’s effort came back off the post, ending any Athletic hopes of a comeback.
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