Everton fell to their third defeat in four Premier League games when Brighton overcame them by a 1-0 scoreline at the Amex Stadium on Saturday.
The result left the Toffees in 10th place heading into the new year. Marco Silva must bear much of the responsibility for his side’s underwhelming campaign, and must now look to address one of the key tactical flaws that is hampering his team’s progress.
On the chalkboard
For the clash with the Seagulls, Silva opted to stick with the 3-4-3 formation that worked so well during the 5-1 win against Everton previously, lining up with a back three comprised of Kurt Zouma, Michael Keane and Yerry Mina.
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The Portuguese coach has experimented with this system before this season, but aside from at Turf Moor it has never looked convincing and those occasions have often resulted in defeat, as was the case against Brighton.
Whilst Everton are a team in transition, and Silva deserves much more time and further transfer windows to mould the squad in his own image, he cannot afford to throw away this season in the name of tinkering and experimentation. He must now abandon the three-at-the-back formation, at least until the deficiencies in the Everton squad that undermine said system are addressed.
Lacking required qualities
By fielding three in defence, Silva loses a man from the middle of the park. With a pair of aggressive, energetic and mobile central-midfielders this is less of a problem. However, Silva does not have midfielders with such requisite attributes to call upon.
Idrissa Gueye aside, the likes of Andre Gomes, Morgan Schneiderlin and Tom Davies all lack the necessary athleticism to perform this role.
Until Silva can field a midfield pair with the required qualities, a back-three system will continue to let him down. Until then, he must identify the Toffees’ best centre-back pairing and keep his faith in them in the heart of his defence.
Everton fans, who do you think is the club’s best centre-back pair?
