Everton 2-1 Crystal Palace: Three Takeaways | McNeil Stunner Sparks Blues Comeback

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The Toffees season finally gets going with a first come-from-behind win of the Dyche era

McNeil Blossoms

I had major doubts whether Dwight McNeil would be able to contribute effectively if moved from the left wing to a central attacking position. This was discussed by many observers towards the end of last season, with McNeil increasingly drifting inside from the flanks, to occasional effect. During the summer, the former Burnley wide man was deployed centrally in a couple of friendly matches, opening up the possibility that Sean Dyche was actively considering the possibility, despite the club having signed two players during the transfer window - Iliman Ndiaye and Jesper Lindstrom - who have experience in the position.

Both new additions were used on the flanks during preseason, however — though it had always appeared likely that the Dane would be fielded on the right, given Everton's failure to sign a specialist winger. Although McNeil began the campaign in his accustomed left-sided berth, as soon as Ndiaye began to be integrated into the team, he was stitched centrally. There were significant areas of the player's game which caused concern, including a tendency to not be aware of teammates' movements in a more congested area of the pitch and, most seriously, his extreme one-footedness, which limited what he was able to do with the ball upon receiving it.

To a degree, those suspicions are still extant, and were on show in a first half against Crystal Palace in which McNeil was highly ineffective. He saw a lot of the ball - nobody can doubt his desire to impact the game, or to make himself available - but ran into a lot of blind alleys, resulting in multiple losses of possession, breaking down promising attacks. After the interval, however his impact was like night and day. I feel that part of this was due to Ndiaye receiving more attention from the opposition, as he'd been one of the few bright sparks in what was a desultory first half performance from the Blues. As a result, McNeil was granted more space and did his thing.

The numbers are undeniable: in four starts as an advanced central midfielder, the 24-year-old has scored three goals and registered two assists — an invaluable contribution. Whatever his shortcomings in terms of being an ideal fit for the position (his eight losses of possession at the weekend was far in advance of every other Everton player), McNeil is impacting the game more and finding opportunities to unleash that quality left foot in dangerous areas. He's had more effective overall outings, but goals win games and the end product he's showing in his new role is fully justifying Dyche's decision to move him.

The Ndiaye Effect

The man signed from Marseille in the summer, for what now seems a bargain price of €18m, does not always translate from was the viewer sees - the eye test - to recorded statistics, which is something of an anomaly and serves to demonstrate that the data is not everything. Against Palace, the stats were positive, for once. Ndiaye was by some margin Everton's best player in the opening half, which necessitated a shift of defensive focus towards him by visiting manager Oliver Glasner in the second period.

This time, the wide man stayed on the pitch for the full game and in those 90-plus minutes took 46 touches, succeeded in three of four dribbles, four progressive carries and completed 88.6% of his passes. Out of possession, he was outstanding, making an impressive 13 ball recoveries, contributing a combined three tackles and interceptions, and making a vital goal-line clearance. Already a firm fan favourite, the 24-year-old excites whenever the ball reaches him and, I'm absolutely certain, worries opposition defences.

Would Ndiaye be even more effective if fielded centrally, where he's enjoyed most of his career success?

Unquestionably. However, using him in a sub-optimal position is benefiting the team as a whole. In terms of shape, it looks far more balanced with Ndiaye on the left, as opposed to McNeil. He's at least as defensively responsible as McNeil, but faster and is more able to get back to assist the back four. More importantly, the Toffees have an active left-sided threat now, as Dwight was unwilling/incapable of attacking the fullback and would instead drift infield to occupy the same space as Abdoulaye Doucoure, or whoever was playing as the central attacking midfielder. This gave Everton a very lopsided shape, with a big black hole on the advanced left side of the pitch.

Instead, Ndiaye is showing he can perform effectively as a winger, with the manager allowing him plenty of scope to roam around creating havoc and concern for the opposition. With his intelligence, mobility and eye for the unpredictable, he has to be constantly watched and can disrupt conventional defensive schemes, potentially opening up opportunities for his teammates, with McNeil being the most obvious beneficiary at the moment. He really is Everton's ace in the hole and has been a transformative signing for the club's attacking structure.

Random Observations

Dyche has been criticized heavily in this column in recent weeks (and beyond) for his poor game management, but this was not the case at the weekend. It was a surprise to see him take off the underperforming Jesper Lindstrom at halftime — though mitigated by the suspicion that the manager does not entirely trust the Dane, as yet. The former Napoli man had a poor half, that can't be disputed, though he did provide key passes from a couple of excellent corner kicks and worked hard defensively, accruing three interceptions and three blocks. Still, his impact in offensive play was negligible, seeing as he was marooned out near the touchline in a high position.

His replacement, Jack Harrison is an undoubted Dyche favourite and quickly justified the manager's decision, working with his customary intensity and putting in a great cross for McNeil's second goal — albeit with that crucial contribution not appearing anywhere in the statistics, due to the ball touching a Palace defender before reaching the Everton goalscorer. Harsh, though Jack was credited with a goal last season due to Dominic Calvert-Lewin's point-blank effort grazing him on the way into the net, so I guess it all balances out.

That aside, how well did Harrison actually play? He actually touched the ball less than Lindstrom, which is surprising, and posted similar pass completion numbers (58.3% compared to 60.0%, for the Dane). The on-loan Leeds United attacker also contributed no defensive numbers, except for a solitary clearance. It's important that there should be competition for places and Harrison's uncredited key ball into McNeil demonstrated the kind of skill that we should be seeing from him more regularly. Should he automatically reclaim his place on that alone though? I'm not sure I agree with that.

The Toffees do have strong depth in midfield this season and a good argument could be made for starting any two from the five senior options available to Dyche. He opted to stick with the same combination of Orel Mangala and Doucoure, which had performed effectively at Leicester City the previous weekend. The latter struggled to get involved in the game, but the former put in another strong outing. Mangala accumulated a combined nine tackles and interceptions and made seven ball recoveries and is making a good case for himself as a regular starter.

Dyche rotated in Idrissa Gueye and James Garner to solidify things for the closing stages, which was a good move, if perhaps five minutes late. The hosts had been gradually dropping off deeper into a defensive shell after the hour mark and Palace had been accruing a number of attempts on goal — five shots, between the 68th and 82nd minute, for a total xG (Expected Goals) of 0.32, but the change added some energy to the Everton midfield and assuaged nerves. The manager does have trustworthy alternates on the bench this season, so there's no excuse for not utilizing them.

On an unrelated note, it was fantastic to see Jarrad Branthwaite back on the pitch again. The defender did have a few shaky moments over the first 25 minutes or so, but thereafter grew in confidence and by the final whistle was looking his usual self. It was noticeable how much better James Tarkowski played with Branthwaite in alongside him. I'd also like to give a nod to Ashley Young, who put in a second consecutive solid shift, this time at right back and contributed another assist, for McNeil's opener. He shouldn't be starting a lot of games at this stage of his career but he's always available and the cover he provides has been invaluable.

Statistics provided courtesy of fbref.com, sofascore.com and fotmob.com