Everton need to find goalscoring touch

Everton suffered a 4-0 defeat to Manchester United this weekend and the club’s ongoing goalscoring drought is a cause for concern.

The Toffees have failed to score a single goal in four consecutive matches, in all competitions, with the last goal coming in the 1-1 Europa League qualifying play-off draw against Hajduk Split, on August 24th.

Everton have since lost matches to Tottenham Hotspur, Chelsea, Atalanta and Manchester United, leading to discussions about the team’s lack of goals.

Prior to the 4-0 loss away to United, Everton registered just four shots on target, having none against the reigning Premier League champions Chelsea.

It was expected that Everton may find it harder to score this season, having lost star striker Romelu Lukaku to the Red Devils this summer, but the signings Ronald Koeman made this summer should have given them a better record than they have shown in recent weeks.

Former Barcelona striker Sandro Ramirez was signed by Everton for a £5.2 million fee after the Spaniard scored 14 La Liga goals for Malaga last season, showing that the 22-year-old is capable of scoring in a top league.

But since arriving at Goodison Park, Ramirez has failed to find the back of the net and has averaged just 1.8 shots per game he has appeared in the Premier League.

Another player to arrive at Everton this summer was English football icon Wayne Rooney, who is able to play as a striker despite often playing further back.

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Rooney has had a more positive time since rejoining his childhood club, scoring two Premier League goals in five appearances.

But Rooney’s beginning to enter the latter stages of his career and he is not a player that can carry a team like Lukaku did last season.

Rooney is still a good player that is able to contribute to many areas of play and help support his team, but an out-and-out goalscorer is needed if Rooney is to be successful.

Koeman signed Gylfi Sigurdsson to help support the former England captain, who has found himself playing as a striker on occasion this season.

The Dutch manager needs to take a hard look at his team and consider why they are finding it difficult to get shots on target.

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Despite losing 4-0, the Toffees did register three shots on target against United and need to look at ways to get as many shots off as possible if they hope to turn their poor run of form around.

It is still early in the season, but if the team can’t score goals, things will get harder and harder and sweeping changes will need to be made in the January transfer window.