EPL Stats Gallery: xG, defensive duels, shot maps and much more from Everton vs Norwich City | OneFootball

Everton hosted Norwich City at Goodison Park on Matchday 6 of the 2021/22 Premier League season on Saturday.

The Toffees went into the game with a decent record and came out with a 2-0 win over the Canaries with a first-half goal by Andros Townsend from the penalty spot, followed by a second-half goal by Doucoure to seal the game. Daniel Farke’s Norwich City came into the game with a hope to get their first points of the season but failed as they now have lost all of their first six games of the 2021 season. Rafa Benitez’s Everton have now won four of their first six games, and now sit at sixth at the table, but are equal on 13 points with three teams above them (Chelsea, Man City and Man Utd have 13 points too) and are only behind leaders Liverpool by one point.

We’ve broken down all the key stats for you to digest, including; * shot maps * xT (expected threat) * pass networks * xG timelines * defensive duels * average positions and much more!

We also try to answer some questions for you with the visuals;

Which Everton player attempted the most number of shots? What were the passing zones for Norwich City?

To navigate the stats gallery simply click on the numbers to move through the pages.

At the end of the gallery, you’ll be able to download the full PDF stats report.

Rafa Benitez lined up Everton in a 4-4-2 formation shifting to a 4-4-1-1 in attack, with Solomon Rondon leading the line in the absence of Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison. He was supported by attacking midfielder Demarai Gray, along with Alex Iwobi on the left wing and Andros Townsend on the right. Doucoure and Allan were the two holding midfielders protecting the back four of left-back Lucas Digne, centre-backs Michael Keane and Yerry Mina and right-back Ben Godfrey. Jordan Pickford returned from injury to start in goal for the Toffees.

The average positions of the Everton players showed that they were in very advanced positions on the field, with most players having their average positions in the opponent’s half. They kept a 4-4-2 defensive shape when out of possession and were constantly pressing from upfront.

Daniel Farke’s Norwich City were lined up in a 5-3-2 formation, with Teemu Pukki and Joshua Sargent playing as the two strikers upfront. The three central midfielders included Kenny McLean on the left, Mathias Normann in the centre and Pierre Lees-Melou on the right. Tim Krul started in goal for the Canaries behind a back five including left wing-back Brandon Williams, a back three of centre-backs Ben Gibson, Grant Hanley and Ozan Kabak and right wing-back Max Aarons.

The average positions of the canaries show that they were all over the place in defence and could not maintain their constant tactical shape. They had to work hard in defence and needed help in midfield from the two strikers, who had to drop deeper on many occasions.

Everton picked up their third victory in three home games with a 2-0 victory. They created an xG of 1.81 in the match, taking a total of 10 shots in goal, out of which four were on target. Norwich City also took a total of 10 shots but had only two on target, and no goals to show for it. They had a low xG of 0.65 in the game. Everton had more attacks in the game even though Daniel Farke’s men had 55% possession in the game.

Andros Townsend, who scored from the penalty spot in the first half, had the highest xG creation in the match with 0.89. Ben Godfrey also had an xG of 0.37, while Ben Gibson had the highest xG among the Canaries with 0.37. Norwich’s midfielders Normann and McLean both took three shots each on goals, while Towsend also took three for Everton. BEB Gibson had 16 passes in the final third, which was the highest, followed by Doucoure and McLean’s 11.

Everton’s shot map shows that they took half of their shots from inside the box, while the remaining were taken from a longer distance. They scored both their goals from inside the penalty box, one was from the spot by Townsend, and another was a Doucoure finish at the end of a great move.

Norwich City’s shot map shows that they took most of their shots from very long range and only had a few shots from close range. this was the main reason for their low xG, as they also missed a chance from inside the six-yard box.

The xT creation timeline of the match shows that Everton created a lot of xT(expected threat) in the first 20 minutes of the first half. After a silent half an hour, both teams created a little threat in the second half before Everton snatched the second goal. The xG timeline of the match shows how both teams’ xG increased during the entire 90 minutes of the game.

Everton’s pass matrix shows that they had a decent number of passes in the match with 45% of the possession. Lucas Digne attempted the most passes for the Toffees with 72, while Doucoure received the most passes for them with 43. Norwich City’s pass matrix shows that they had more possession than Everton in the match and completed a lot of passes. Ben Gibson and Pierre Lees-Melou attempted the most passes for them with 62 each, while Lees-Melou received the most passes with 51. The pass zones of Everton show that they had most of their passes in the match at both the wings, with a decent number also in midfield and defence. The central area in front of the opposition goal had a lesser concentration of passes. Digne put in six crosses and four passes into the box, which were both the highest.

The pass zones of Norwich City show that they had the largest concentration of passes in the defensive areas, meaning they had lesser meaningful possession. Lees-Melou had five passes into the opposition box, which was the highest for the Canaries. The xT creation zones of the Toffees show that they created lots of threat in the attacking areas all around the opposition box. They created a decent amount of expected threat(xT) in dangerous positions to be able to score twice and win the game. Andros Townsend had the highest individual xT creation with his passing.

Other than Townsend, Demarai Gray and Alex Iwobi also created decent xT from their passing. Allan had the highest xT creation from dribbling, followed by Gray and Townsend.

The xT creation zones of the visitors show that they had a little threat creation in and around the opposition box. They created a few chances but had very little opportunity creation inside the opposition box. Ben Gibson, Lees-Melou and Mathias Normann had a decent xT creation from passing.

As mentioned before, Gibson, Lees-Melou and Nirmaan created decent xT from passing, with little creation from Max Aaron’s as well. Brandon Williams had the highest xT creation from dribbling for the Canaries. Everton had to face a lot of defensive duels in the match in defence, especially on the left side of the defence. They were only able to win around 35% of their defensive duels in the match, with most players winning one or two. There were not many aerial duels to contest in the match. most of the aerial duels, the Toffees faces were near both the penalty areas and they won a few of them. Michael Keane won three aerial duels for them in the match, which was the highest among the Toffees.

Everton made a lot of loose ball recoveries in the match, especially in the attacking areas around the opposition box. Michael Keane and Yerry Mina both made three loose ball recoveries each for their team.

Norwich City faced a lot of defensive duels in their defensive areas and midfield, winning more than 50%. A lot of their players including Kabak, Hanley and Gibson won two defensive duels each.

Norwich City had to contest a lot of aerial duels inside their own penalty box, and they were effective in winning most of them. Grant Hanley won the most defensive duels in the match with six.

The Canaries made a lot of loose ball recoveries in the match, especially in the defensive areas of the pitch. Hanley and Kabak both made three recoveries each for them.

This was yet another good performance from the Toffees at home, as they have now won all of their first three home games in the league so far this season. They have 13 points in the first six games and are looking to be serious contenders for a top-four spot this season. Norwich City have now lost all six league games so far this season scoring just two goals and conceding 16. they will hope to do better in the coming weeks if they want to have any chance of surviving in the Premier League at the end of this season.

If you want to download this stats report in a PDF you can do so here:

EPL Stats Gallery: Everton vs Norwich City