Romelu Lukaku bullies Newcastle into submission with a brace and assist on his first league start for Everton. Ross Barkley continues his eye-catching season with another strike, while Alan Pardew drops Papiss Cisse and hauls off Hatem Ben Arfa at the break as his side suffer a second successive defeat:
Lukaku Runs Riot
Having emerged from the bench to notch the winner against West Ham last weekend, the on-loan forward was handed his first start by Roberto Martinez last night. Lukaku’s impact was instant as the Merseysiders extended their unbeaten run – with just five minutes on the clock he had beaten Tim Krul between the sticks for Newcastle before adding another goal and assist to signal his intent for the season.
Frozen out by Jose Mourinho at Chelsea in spite of his scoring exploits on loan at West Brom, Lukaku’s Fantasy Premier League (FPL) price plummeted but the big Belgian has wasted no time in highlighting his worth as a Fantasy asset – fed by the creativity of the likes of Kevin Mirallas and Leighton Baines, he looks poised to plunder the goals once again this term and has already earned 23 FPL points in one-and-a-half matches for the Merseysiders. While Steve Clarke tended to utilise him from the bench on a number of occasions at West Brom, Lukaku looks far more likely to start under Martinez and has quickly replaced the misfiring Nikica Jelavic as the Toffees main forward – after the game, the Everton boss was understandably full of praise for his season-long acquisition:
“Romelu’s a young man that has everything as a striker. Sometimes you see a number nine that is powerful and has great physical presence – I think what Romelu also brings is a great technical awareness of what’s around him. He’s really gifted in holding up play with his back to goal. That was our focal point today, but that understanding with Ross Barkley was magic at times. He’s a great goalscorer and the reception that he had at Goodison made him a player that looked at home. I want him to enjoy his football, to develop and to become as good as he can be…At times he was unplayable and that that means he opened spaces for others. We need to get to know him. In the second half against West Ham he showed what he could do and tonight he looked at home.”
Barkley In the Points Again
While the Everton defence failed to keep a home clean sheet for the first time since March, their cut-price midfielder was in the points yet again last night. We’d highlighted Barkley in last week’s members Versus article and suggested that, despite his impressive statistics, there was an argument he had been slightly underperforming – last night he stepped up a level and grabbed his first goal since the season opener at Norwich.
In a campaign that has so far been blighted by the downfall of virtually every premium midfield bar Yaya Toure, Barkley continues to defy the doubters and although his ownership is now 30% in FPL, a price tag of 5.3 will surely prove irresistible to many non-owners over the next few days. Everton’s midweek cup exit, while undoubtedly disappointing for Toffees fans, looks likely to diminish any chance of rest and rotation amongst Martinez’ charges – given his present form, it’s a fair assumption to say that Barkley’s starts in the role in “the hole†look pretty much assured.
Barkley’s improvement was singled out by his manager after the final whistle:
“It’s hard to explain how much he’s growing game by game. In pre-season he impressed and from that onwards he is getting better. He’s a unique talent for an English boy. He has developed a good relationship with Romelu straight away. He’s growing so much that if anything you need to take him away from the training ground as he’s so eager to fulfil his potential.”
Mirallas Ankle Worry
The Belgian picked up an assist for the second successive Gameweek as his slow start to the season finally comes alive. After teeing up Lukaku for the winner against West Ham, Mirallas was quick off the mark and provided his compatriot with a killer pass to slot home the opener against the Magpies. Mirallas’ owners will be somewhat concerned after he was withdrawn midway through the second-half due to injury, though – with plenty of options on the right, including Gerard Deulofeu, Steven Naismith, Arouna Kone and Leon Osman, Martinez will be keen to court caution with the wideman and would only say:
“Kevin had a knock 25 minutes into the game. He twisted his ankle slightly so we’ll have to assess him.””
Pardew Tinkers with Frontline Options
Loic Remy was another on-loan forward to make his mark at Goodison last night. The Frenchman’s brace against Hull in the previous Gameweek persuaded Alan Pardew to drop the out-of-sorts Papiss Cisse and move him to the middle, with Yoan Gouffran drafted in for a role on the flank. Remy’s strike certainly vindicated his manager’s decision to leave Cisse out of the first XI, while Gouffran could be set to retain his role out wide after chipping in with an assist.
While the Cisse omission perhaps raised one or two eyebrows, Pardew’s decision to haul off Hatem Ben Arfa at the break was a real surprise. The Newcastle boss failed to mention any injury after the match, and indirectly hinted the change was down to a lack of first-half fight – after a brief couple of impressive displays, Ben Arfa has quickly lost his form and, currently sitting in 22% of FPL teams, could be set for an exodus with Liverpool, Chelsea and Spurs in the next five.
Pardew was, however, a little more vocal on the chances of Yohan Cabaye. The midfielder sustained a groin injury in the Hull loss and was only fit for a bench role – replacing Ben Arfa at half-time, he scored a stunning long-range effort to nail down a starting role for the weekend clash against Cardiff, according to his manager:
“He’s a class act. We had a long chat, me and him, yesterday about him starting and we both felt he wasn’t quite right for 90 minutes. He was terrific in the second half and he hasn’t had any problems coming off, so he’s an absolute banker for Cardiff. That’s what I’m looking at. We need that sort of performance, that kind of 90 minutes he gives me with the quality….We’ve got to get the right balance and that’s what we’re searching for. That’s not just us, a lot of sides in the Premier League are searching for that right balance in the team. For me, I think it’s important that we get a team out against Cardiff that has the right balance to it.”
Magpies Defending Slammed
Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa was also taken off a half-time after the visitors went in 3-0 down at the break. The centre-half has been targeted by Fantasy managers due to his budget pricing but, unable to contain Lukaku’s pace and power, he was replaced by Mike Williamson. A much-improved Magpies kept Everton at bay in the second period, with Pardew highly critical of a defence that has now conceded 11 goals – the second worst backline in the top-flight.
“We had more or less the same players in the second half, but for two changes at half-time. There was a change of attitude. There was a tackle won, a header won and it makes all the difference. Then suddenly we’re back in it. Really and truly, all we had to play for was pride in the end. Those goals in the first half, I’m sorry – we can’t defend like that. There have been a few signs of conceding goals, and we have to tighten up. Our goals against doesn’t look good. We need to tighten that defensive side of things.”
