Everton will get nowhere if they don’t address their Achilles heel

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Despite a relatively decent performance in parts, Everton were beaten 2-0 by Manchester City on Wednesday.

Marco Silva’s side could not aid their bitter rivals Liverpool in the Premier League title race, and slipped to an 11th defeat of the season in the competition.

The Toffees missed out on the chance to leapfrog Watford into eighth.

It’s been a tough time of late for Everton, who have picked up just 11 points since the defeat to Liverpool on December 2.

Having started brightly, their season is now threatening to turn sour – and there’s one huge Achilles heel that is making life more diffcult than it needs to be.

Same old set pieces

Everton can play well in games an create chances.

They can create chances and look decent in phases but what always seems to bite them is their inability to defend set pieces effectively

Silva has implemented a zonal marking strategy since his arrival, but the players don’t seem to trust the tactic.

As reported by BBC Sport, Aymeric Laporte’s header became the 18th goal conceded from a set piece in all competitions this season.

To say that this is their Achilles heel would be an understatement.

It’s a big problem that Silva must address immediately, before the Toffees’ season fizzles out into nothing.

Perhaps that means ditching zonal marking and instead adopting a more traditional, man-to-man system.