Roberto Martinez’s Everton side just can’t get going this season.
On Saturday they were brushed aside by Southampton 3-0 at St Mary’s, as the Toffees were lackluster in attack and sloppy at the back.
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Everton now sit in 10th place in the Premier League with 21 points, as Martinez’s side have been riddle with inconsistency throughout the season as they’ve only recorded back-to-back wins once in the PL this season.
After an under-strength Southampton side cruised to victory, Martinez revealed he was not happy but his side aren’t far away from replicating the form which saw them finish fifth last season.“Very disappointing. A game with nothing between the two sides apart from ourselves not being able to defend the six-yard box better,” Martinez said. “It is about how we defended the six-yard box, the other two goals were the same. They didn’t have to do much to score three goals. It was not a case of them being superior to us, it is just we were very soft. I do feel we need to find a good run of performances. I don’t think the performance was too far away from what you need to get good results.”
Last season Everton were in the hunt to finish in the top four but finished the season in poor form, and this year they will be hoping the opposite is true.
The Toffees are now 10 points off the top four heading into a busy festive period, with the likes of Romelu Lukaku and Ross Barkley failing to replicate the same form they did last season. With a vast array of talented internationals, it is difficult to work out why Everton have been up and down like a yo-yo, with five wins, six draws and six defeats so far.
Everton have excelled in the Europa League by winning a very tough group to make the last 32, but quite why they aren’t firing on all cylinders in the PL is a head-scratcher.