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Everton’s rollercoaster of a season took a turn in the right direction on Saturday as they overcame Bournemouth and, in winning 2-0, kept their first clean-sheet since an uninspiring one-goal victory over Cardiff towards the end of November – the Toffees had previously been hit for six by Spurs and been on the wrong end of a lot of 1-0’s themselves.
The summer signings of Yerry Mina and Kurt Zouma were surely intended to give Marco Silva’s men a watertight defence to fall back on but neither have been able to do so, with the Goodison Park outfit conceding 17 in the eight games prior to their dispatch of the Cherries.
Nevertheless, the weekend’s result will surely be a huge relief to all Evertonians, who largely have Michael Keane to thank – the former Burnley man was immense at the heart of the back four as he recorded one of his most stoic performances yet this campaign.
A £26m signing from the Clarets in summer 2017 after a fantastic season under Sean Dyche, the Englishman initially struggled to produce similar form on Merseyside but, despite a fractured skull keeping him out for a month, he has been a rock at the back in recent weeks – his performance against Spurs aside.
On Saturday though, while Zouma may have stolen the plaudits for his opener, the 26-year-old was dominant in all aspects of his game, muting the likes of Joshua King and David Brooks brilliantly – not an easy feat.
Completing 2 tackles and 2 interceptions, the 6-foot-3 defender read the game well and got across the ground effectively despite his large frame. However, it was in the air where he truly looked unbeatable as he won a whopping 13 aerial duels, using his physicality to give the Cherries forwards nothing on the bounce.
Everton boss Silva’s previous insistence to play out the back – even against the likes of Manchester City – has seen them punished on occasions, although there was no such messing about from Keane, who hoofed the ball clear an impressive 11 times. Had he not done so, the result could have been very different as Eddie Howe’s side is packed full of pacey players who would quickly pounce on a bad pass.
Aside from an all-conquering defensive showing, the 5-cap international was inches away from adding the icing to the cake as he struck the woodwork late in the first half with Asmir Begovic beaten by his flicked header – had he found the net, the Manchester-born giant would have surely scooped the man of the match award.
The Toffees visit Southampton this weekend and will be hoping from more of the same from Keane, who, if he continues to show such a high standard of performance, can easily outshine both World Cup star Mina and Chelsea loanee Zouma.
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