FRANK HEAVENS FOR THAT
Lamps ends shut-out drought
FRANK LAMPARD credited a ‘team effort’ for Everton’s new-found solidity as they kept a first clean sheet since November to beat Leeds.
Goals from Seamus Coleman, Michael Keane and Richarlison handed the Toffees a convincing victory – ending a six-game winless run in the league, to ease their relegation fears.
But it was the Toffees’ work off the ball that most pleased the manager, rather than their attacking threat.
New boss Lampard (right), recording his first league win as Goodison chief, said: “Credit to the lads, defending is a team effort and it starts from the front.
“That’s what was so good about today, the frontmen and wide men jumping out to people, the compact nature of the team.
“And then, when you do have to defend, which Leeds will always make you do, we dealt with things well in the box.
“It’s a good thing for the team to feel the confidence of a clean sheet, I know it’s been a while.
“We’ll keep working on that and it’s so integral to where we want to be. It was a huge part of the game for us today.”
Everton showed their intent to defend from the front in the first minute, winning the ball high before Dominic Calvert-Lewin played in Anthony Gordon for a chance he could only scuff when a goal looked certain.
But the hosts only had to wait until the 10th minute to open the scoring, when Coleman bravely stooped to head in at the back post after Calvert-Lewin had diverted a Donny van de Beek cross in that direction.
To their credit, Leeds began showing their own threat, Rodrigo smashing
It’s a good thing for the team to feel the confidence of a clean sheet – I know that it’s been a while.
the bar after running onto a bouncing ball at the edge of the box, and Dan
James being denied by a brilliant
Mason
Holgate slide.
But they also looked shaken by Everton’s high press and, after surrendering a corner to an aggressive Richarlison, did too little to stop Keane heading in Gordon’s delivery.
The Toffees went close again through Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin, while at the other end Rodrigo struck the bar again from the edge of the box.
Leeds boss
Marcelo Bielsa mixed it up at half-time, withdrawing Raphinha and
Mateusz Klich for
Tyler Roberts and
Adam Forshaw.
Asked about those changes at full-time, Bielsa said: “The position of Klich was an error on my part, we had to defend too
much.
“He couldn’t do what he does best, which is make runs in attack.”
And of Raphinha, he added: “I decided that Daniel James should take over his role on the right and Tyler Roberts take over in the centre. He is not injured.”
In fairness, those switches did result in an initial improvement, even if the visitors could not test Jordan Pickford.
The longer Everton resisted, however, the better they became at preventing Leeds building from the back.
And the game was over when Richarlison hit a left-footed effort from the edge of the box that clipped Gordon’s heels en route to the net.
Bielsa added: “We didn’t defend well in the first half but we played with some danger.
“Then in the second half we defended better but didn’t create. I think the result was fair.”
As for Lampard, he was left hailing another encouraging performance in just his third game in charge.
He added: “It was everything we wanted.
“I’ve been here two weeks, it’s only a start that’s for sure and I won’t get overexcited, but I enjoy seeing my team play like that.”