Fewer touches than Pickford: Dyche now has to drop Everton star who lost the ball 12x

West Ham United and Everton played out a rather disappointing 0-0 draw at the London Stadium on Saturday afternoon.    Sean Dyche’s side continue their strong run despite poor quality of play overall.    They have now lost just one of their last seven games, a 1-0 defeat to Southampton last weekend.

   It wasn’t a game with few shots, but they were of low quality.    Despite the Hammers having 11 shots and Everton 18, according to Sofascore, neither side really tested the opposing goalkeeper.    There were just ten shots on goal for either side, with the Toffees registering just four.

   The visitors had some good chances, but the best chance was wasted by Jesper Lindström.    His header from Orel Mangala’s pass was well saved by Hammers goalkeeper Lukas Fabianski.    The home side also had some great chances to win late on, including a great chance for Crysencia Summerville.    However, the winger could only hit the post.

   Despite a tough day at the office, there were some good performances in blue at the London Stadium and there were certainly positives for Sean Dyche to take away from the East London clash.

   Everton’s best performances against West Ham

   The man who kept the Toffees in the game today was their goalkeeper, Jordan Pickford.    The England number one produced some outstanding saves, particularly at the death, to keep the score 0-0 and ensure his side returned to Merseyside with a point.    This included an excellent stop from Danny Ings, with the Toffees keeper managing to hold onto his deflected shot.

   Pickford was rated 9/10 by Liverpool Echo reporter Chris Beesley, the highest of his teammates.    He praised the Toffees stopper’s performance, noting he made “five impressive stops” against the Hammers.

   It wasn’t just Pickford who kept the Toffees in the game, but England team-mate Jarrad Branthwaite also put in a great performance.    Beesley rated him 8/10 for his afternoon’s work and praised his “impeccable reading of the game, pace and power”, something Dyche’s side have missed in his absence.

   The central defender’s statistics from the match are also impressive.    Branthwaite won three of the four bouts he faced, won three of his three tackles and struck out three times.    It was a great performance.

   As well as Pickford and Branthwaite featuring against the Hammers, there were a few players who struggled, including striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

   Calvert-Lewin v West Ham stats

   It has been a difficult season for Toffees number nine Calvert-Lewin so far.    He has scored twice this season, although the draw at the London Stadium was his seventh straight Premier League game without a goal.

   As has often been the case for the experienced centre-forward this season, opportunities have been few and far between for Calvert-Lewin.    Despite his presence up front, his teammates struggled to find the attacker, although he still worked hard despite the lack of serve.

   In fact, the 27-year-old’s stats from the afternoon show how little he actually got in the game.    Calvert-Lewin had just 33 touches, less than even Pickford’s 46. He completed just 56% of his passes, completed 10 of 18, lost the ball 12 times and shot wide of the mark three times.    The striker worked hard without the ball but won three of six aerial contests.

   Calvert-Lewin received a rating of 6/10 from Beesley.    He was praised for his work without the ball and the fact that he was able to “keep Hammers defenders on their toes”, although a reporter noted that he was “without clear openings” throughout the game.

   Although he has only been in the job for a short time, Dyche could soon consider releasing the striker after the international break.

   He didn’t look like much of a threat in front of goal and with a long goal drought that only got worse on Saturday afternoon, the Toffees boss was able to decide enough was enough and let him go, in search of goals and wins ahead of a big relegation battle  .