Everton suffered a big blow to their Premier League survival hopes after losing 2-0 to Manchester City on Saturday.
Erling Braut Haaland scored a double at the Etihad Stadium to consign the Toffees to their 11th defeat of the campaign.
Sean Dyche’s side have shown a brilliant reaction after they were docked points for breaching financial rules.
But their recent seven-game winless run in the English top flight is concerning for fans, who will be devastated if the club go down at the end of the season.
However, it is not all doom and gloom and Everton supporters can take many positives from their team’s performance yesterday.
Excellent defensive display
Man City came into the game on the back of five successive top-flight victories.
Everyone expected a comfortable victory for City, but a resolute defensive display from Everton limited them to zero shots on target in the opening half.
This was very impressive considering the attacking talent of Pep Guardiola’s side.
Haaland finally broke the deadlock by taking advantage of a kind deflection from a corner on 70 minutes before adding another with a brilliant finish.
The Toffees could have taken a point from the match if they had been more clinical with the few chances they created.
Jarrad Branthwaite continues to impress
Jarrad Branthwaite has been a key player for Sean Dyche’s side this season, starting 21 Premier League matches and scoring a goal.
The 21-year-old impressed once again on Saturday as he made several big interventions to deny City from scoring.
Branthwaite won six of his eight ground duels, completed four tackles and made five clearances.
The young centre-back is expected to play a major role in Everton’s relegation battle, but it is uncertain he will stay at Goodison Park with several top European clubs monitoring him.
Defeats for Luton and Nottingham Forest
Everton are in a fierce relegation battle and will be keeping a close eye on their relegation rivals’ results.
Luton Town had the opportunity to widen the gap on the Merseyside outfit, but they lost their home game on Saturday and are only a point above the relegation zone.
Nottingham Forest also failed to collect any points after succumbing to a defeat at the City Ground.
If the Toffees win their next match against Crystal Palace, they can move into 16th spot in the Premier League table providing the other results go their way.
