Everton must now unleash Idrissa Gana Gueye
Everton have had to endure a tough start to their season and are one of the few teams left in the Premier League without a win.
However, that’s not to say that Frank Lampard’s side have not been performing well. Two fine draws on the road to Brentford and Leeds United were impressive yet frustrating having surrendered a lead both times.
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But it was the Merseyside derby where they really announced themselves as a side that has made a marked improvement from last season’s misery.
Battling to a 0-0 draw, in which they gave as good as they got against their bitter rivals Liverpool, this game also noted the return of a cult hero at Goodison Park. Idrissa Gana Gueye was introduced 62 minutes in and has already staked his claim for a starting spot.
Gueye must start
The 32-year-old received a SofaScore rating of 6.9 in just half an hour of game time and instantly improved the Toffees in midfield. His unrelenting work rate broke up plenty of attacks for Jurgen Klopp’s side, and then set Lampard’s men away to attack.
He managed seven accurate passes with a 70% success rate but won 100% of his ground duels and two out of three of his aerial duels.
This was the perfect reintroduction for Gueye, who returned having not lost an ounce of the class that made him such a fan favourite in the first place. The 94-cap machine was thrown into the deep end, and it was as if he’d never been away.
With West Ham United at Goodison Park just around the corner, if that home stadium was to welcome him back into the starting lineup it could provide all the ingredients to spark Everton towards their first victory of the season.
The performances are there, they just now need the results.
Back in 2017 journalist Paul Brown listed some stats that outlined Gueye as a fine performer defensively, also claiming that he was the “glue”, in a bid to describe his importance to the Toffees back then.
Therefore, this time around he must start, so he can get back to being that glue that holds the team together. Gueye could be the final piece that sees Lampard’s system start churning out wins.
