Everton's late goal problem. Tiredness, defensive disarray — or just bad luck?

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Moyes’ 10th-placed side scored late to earn draws at Brighton & Hove Albion and Brentford, and to snatch victories against Newcastle United and Fulham. But they have now conceded three successive stoppage-time goals which have deprived them of four key points in the race for Europe. According to Opta, that made them the first team in Premier League history to have conceded a 90th-minute goal or later that changes the result of a match in three consecutive matches. Moyes has expressed concern over Everton’s recent fragility but is yet to offer an explanation as to what is going wrong. The focus for the Scot and his coaching staff will be on pinpointing the issues and putting them right. The Athletic goes in search of some answers. There were moments on Monday when all you could do was applaud Manchester City’s individual brilliance. This was not one of them. Yes, there was a lot to admire about the pass from substitute Mateo Kovacic and the typically composed finish from Erling Haaland. But this was an abject goal to concede and came less than a minute after Thierno Barry put Everton 3-1 ahead. It gave City renewed hope. Moyes called it “s*****“ in an interview with talkSPORT. City play through the first wave of Everton pressure, led by Barry and midfielder Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. In the Premier League, 4-4-2 is a common defensive structure but, with central midfielders defending man-to-man, it grants Kovacic space. Even at this stage, Everton’s central defenders are already way too far apart. Captain James Tarkowski is distracted by Nico O’Reilly’s run behind Tim Iroegbunam and makes a move in that direction. O’Reilly is somebody else’s man — Iroegbunam’s, if Everton are still defending man-to-man. Tarkowski sees Haaland in a more central position and gestures to his central defensive partner Michael Keane to pick him up. Keane responds, but it is already too late. Kovacic’s pass is perfect and it becomes a foot race with Haaland that the Everton defender is always destined to lose… Everton midfielder James Garner (circled) knows what is coming next and sinks to his knees… …and Haaland flights the ball over Jordan Pickford to immediately get City back in the game. Let’s give Jeremy Doku the praise he deserves — this was another incredibly good finish in the context of the game and City’s season. There are no major errors here from Everton, rather a number of smaller issues with their game management and defending that resulted in what was a cruel late blow. This is the first of a number of chances they had on the counter to either score a fourth or run down time. Keane wins possession on the edge of the box and sets free substitute Carlos Alcaraz… The Argentinian has options left and right. Barry has made a run in behind and Iliman Ndiaye could be played into space. Alcaraz could even go forward himself and commit another player… But he plays the ball backwards to Ndiaye and the momentum of the move is checked. Ndiaye has three City players, including Haaland around him. The Senegal winger could look for a pass or attempt to head for the corner, but he attempts to beat them all and loses the ball. City quickly work the ball down the other end and force a succession of corners, from which they eventually score. Everton clear the first one, with Tarkowski winning a header in a typically packed six-yard box… The ball drops to Alcaraz, who thumps away… He, Ndiaye and Barry set off in pursuit, but City’s Matheus Nunes gets there first and clears…. City ‘keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma is far from his goal at this late stage of the game, if Alcaraz can find Barry. The ball is travelling fast, but the substitute cannot get proper purchase on his header and Rayan Cherki is there to start a City attack that leads to another corner. From that corner, Doku is left free. Everton’s priority is simply clearing the ball… The cross finds Marc Guehi. Three Everton players head to confront the centre-back, but Kovacic and Doku are open… Guehi’s first touch is poor but it allows Doku to regain possession. Nathan Patterson, a right-back brought on higher up in an attempt to shut the Belgium winger down late on, gets out quickly… But he slips, allowing Doku space. Perhaps it is a fear of Doku’s ability to manipulate the ball quickly and barrel past opponents, but no other Everton player commits to getting out to him… Doku feigns to shoot, with Alcaraz shifting his weight to his right in a pre-emptive bid to block a shot… But that gives Doku the time to pick his spot. He curls a shot into the far side of the net from what was a four per cent scoring chance (0.04 xG). A week earlier, Everton conceded a 92nd-minute winner to West Ham United’s Callum Wilson. After falling behind to Tomas Soucek’s second-half header, the visitors equalised at the London Stadium through Dewsbury-Hall in the 88th minute and initially pushed for a winner of their own. Here, left-back Vitalii Mykolenko is in a decent crossing position… The ball into the area is poor, sailing out of play… … and Moyes’ reaction on the touchline is worth its own grab. Thirty seconds later, Everton clear a long ball from West Ham and have possession in the right-back channel with Garner, who shifted there from central midfield at 1-0 down with Moyes looking for more quality from deep… Garner hammers the ball down the line, but Soucek blocks it. Garner wins the loose ball but takes a heavy touch and sees Mateus Fernandes intercept his pass. West Ham eventually work the ball to right-back Kyle Walker-Peters, who sees Jarrod Bowen spinning behind Mykolenko… Mykolenko is on his heels, Bowen wins the ball and curls in a cross that Keane clears… West Ham win back possession with Everton sat deep. The ball is recycled to left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf, who is in acres of space, with Ndiaye having tracked Crysencio Summerville’s run. Wilson has found space between Garner and Tarkowski. Diouf’s cross is unerring, but Mykolenko is bullied at the back post by Jarrod Bowen, just as he was by Rayan in Bournemouth’s 2-1 win at Hill Dickinson Stadium in February. Bowen heads back across goal. Keane has been sucked to the back post, Tarkowski is deep and makeshift full-back Garner is in no-man’s land at the far post, granting Wilson free rein. Neither Everton full-back covers themselves in glory here… One hundred minutes had elapsed when Virgil van Dijk scored the winner in the Merseyside derby. This goal was strikingly similar to Soucek’s a week later, and came from a similar zone. Everton actually have one of the better defensive records from set pieces this season, but were found wanting twice in just over a week. It is worth noting just how saturated the six-yard box is, with 13 players there for the corner. Sky Sports’ Monday Night Football show has found Everton’s six-yard box to be the most crowded in the league from corners this season, with teams swinging crosses under Pickford’s bar. Pickford is one of the division’s best when it comes to shot-stopping, but is smaller than many of his peers at 6ft 1in (185cm). He ranks in the bottom 16 per cent for high claims this season. There is a lot to unpack here, but Jake O’Brien’s positioning behind Pickford is curious. He is also holding the goalkeeper’s shirt at one point. As the cross is swung in, Tarkowski is being weighed down on both sides by Liverpool centre-backs Ibrahima Konate and Van Dijk… The pressure is enough to force him off balance, with Van Dijk winning the header in front of goal… Pickford neither totally commits nor stays on his line. If he does the latter, the England international at least gives himself a chance of pulling off a reaction save. The rest is history. So, what’s behind Everton’s recent vulnerability late in games? Tired legs, defensive shortcomings, poor game management and bad luck all come into it. Moyes will hope to find a quick fix, and make sure it doesn’t end up thwarting their European dreams. Spot the pattern. Connect the terms Find the hidden link between sports terms