Everton came undone against Tottenham Hotspur fairly easily on Sunday and Alan Stubbs feels there is a very easy solution.
It was a frustrating evening at the Hill Dickinson Stadium for Everton, who ended up conceding three goals despite a solid display.
David Moyes will be looking to iron out the issue back at Finch Farm ahead of Monday’s trip to face Sunderland on Wearside.
James Tarkowski has slammed Everton’s lack of goals which is quickly becoming a major issue for the Blues.
However, the first two Tottenham goals came from corner kicks, which Everton were unable to deal with on either occasion.
Former Everton man Stubbs has now suggested there is a very simple way of eliminating the same errors that were on display against Spurs.
Everton urged to make tactical tweak after Tottenham frustrations
Jordan Pickford was slammed for not being strong enough after finding himself battling Micky Van de Ven from corners.
The 31-year-old did not have any help from his defenders, who were positioned in a zonal marking system, which gave Van de Ven freedom on the Everton goalkeeper.
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Speaking on A View from The Bullens, Stubbs has urged Moyes to employ some players to pick up the man on Pickford.
“Some teams will go zonal and man-for-man. They do a bit of both. So, a lot of your zonal players will be along the six-yard box. You’ll always have one at the front post and then you’ll have two or three that mark what they see as their biggest strengths,” said Stubbs.
“We would have said: ‘Look, I know we are zonal, but we can’t be leaving him [Van de Ven]’. I think Moyes will be exactly like this, if someone would have done that he would have said well done.”
Everton News columnist Alan Myers was disappointed by Everton’s defending from set pieces as they failed to learn from their own mistakes.
This is something Moyes will surely be looking into this week as they face a Sunderland side who have been causing defences a lot of problems already this season.
Everton become last team to concede from a set piece
Ironically, the first Spurs goal saw Everton’s record of not conceding from a set piece this season come to an end.
Considering the way the game is going this season, the Toffees put up a good defence against set pieces, but it came crashing down on Sunday.
Moyes did not agree Van de Ven’s second goal was a foul, with some suggesting Pickford was pushed back by the defender.
It was certainly a frustrating game for the Toffees, but it is one which will provide a lot of areas to improve ahead of Monday’s trip to the Stadium of Light.
Defending set pieces poorly is not something Everton will want to get used to in this current era of Premier League football.