This article is part of Football FanCast’s In Numbers series, which takes a statistical look at performances, season-long form and reported transfer targets…
Everton have fallen into the relegation zone after losing 1-0 to Burnley over the weekend, with the team averaging a performance rating of 6.59 at Turf Moor. Although the team did indeed perform poorly, in a surprising manner, Lucas Digne was extremely wasteful in the game and produced an uncharacteristically bad display.
Digne is Everton’s current Player of the Year and Players’ Player of the Year, after an incredible debut season on Merseyside, which saw him average very respectable 7.36 during the Premier League last campaign.
Against Burnley, however, the Frenchman lost possession 26 times throughout the 90 minutes he played and did not threaten much going forward, nor was he defensively astute throughout the game.
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Considering Everton had 60% of the ball, it is quite an alarming statistic to see such a talented, tidy player lose the ball so frequently, especially when you add in that Digne also completed just one cross out of the 11 he attempted.
On the other hand, the ex-PSG man did not make a single tackle or clearance during the whole game and considering the team made 14 clearances during the match, it is somewhat surprising to see the left-back not make a single one of them – he averaged 2.7 clearances per game last season.
The former Barcelona player was one of the best in the business going forward last campaign, providing four assists, scoring four times and averaging two key passes per match and 2.4 crosses each game. At Turf Moor, however, Digne failed to dribble past a single player nor did he even attempt to do so, and at the same time completed only 35 passes – 11.5 less than his average for the season.
Throughout his time on Merseyside, the Toffees have looked to the Frenchman to provide devastating deliveries into the box and there is little doubting his importance to the club right now. However, this poor display against Burnley is perhaps a sign of the times for Everton, and when such a crucial player struggles in this manner, questions have to be asked of the whole team and the manager.
Going forward, should Marco Silva stay or go, the Blues must hope that one of their key players gets back to his usual threatening ways, otherwise, the Merseyside outfit may find themselves in around the relegation zone for much longer.