Dom’s got his eye in
It’s two goals in as many games now for Dominic Calvert-Lewin who has got his eye in having previously drawn a blank for 23 consecutive matches.
Confidence can be a funny thing for footballers, particularly strikers, and while Everton’s number nine’s drought was always something of a statistical anomaly given his run included the fixtures against Tottenham Hotspur home and away when he had efforts ruled out, it no doubt would have played on his mind. Calvert-Lewin has been something of a ‘streaky’ scorer throughout his career though so hopefully he now finds himself on a timely purple patch for the run-in.
The pressure penalty he converted against Newcastle United to earn a share of the spoils at St James’ Park on Tuesday night may well go on to be viewed as a watershed moment for both player and team alike. Pedantic statisticians might have changed the narrative to count the number of games Calvert-Lewin had gone without scoring ‘from open play’ but he nipped that one in the bud here.
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The striker might have had a hat-trick here but spurned more inviting-looking chances and rather than say he benefitted from good fortune, he should be credited with having the nous to close down Arijanet Muric in a moment of vulnerability from the keeper. It was the Calvert-Lewin’s fourth goal against Burnley – having already netted the winner in another 1-0 victory here with a diving header in rather different circumstances on Boxing Day 2019 in what was Carlo Ancelotti’s first game in charge – but this was surely far more important with arguably only his
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