A wide free kick, an in-swinging corner towards the back post, and a second phase of a corner kick — Everton’s three goals against Liverpool and Brentford couldn’t have been more illustrative of their strengths from set pieces.
In a Premier League season where 49 per cent of Everton’s goals have come from set pieces, it was fitting the three that secured their survival came from dead-ball situations.
“We want to be competitive on set pieces,” said Everton’s manager Sean Dyche last February. “The staff and analysts spend a lot of time to make the best chances we can from set pieces, but delivery is massively important and the intent and desire to score a goal — that’s a large part of what we keep drumming into the players.”
This season, there have been three types of set-piece goals that have been key to Everton’s prowess from this phase of play.
The first is lumping deep free kicks — which are taken between their own third and the halfway line — towards the opponents’ penalty area and into the “Dyche Zone”. The second is in-swinging corners towards the back post, and the third is shooting quickly on the second phase of corner kicks.
GO DEEPER
Keeping the threat alive: The importance of the second phase at corners
Usually, Dyche’s side keeps three players outside the penalty area during corners — two by the edge of the box and one slightly deeper — to defend against counter-attacks. The role of those players is primarily defensive, but they are also crucial to maintaining the pressure and being a threat on the second phase of corners.
If Everton do not win the first contact and the ball is cleared, their players by the edge of the box are ready to attack the second phase by shooting.
In this example, away to Tottenham Hotspur in December, Vitalii Mykolenko and Andre Gomes are positioned by the edge of the box, with Nathan Patterson (out of shot) deeper when James Garner is readying to take the corner.
As Garner plays the cross, Mykolenko and Gomes are ready for the second phase…
… and the Portuguese midfielder attacks the cleared ball…
… before striking it into the far corner to make it 2-1.
In another example, against Crystal Palace in November, Everton have Mykolenko and Idrissa Gueye by the edge of the box, with Ashley Young (out of shot) behind them. Again, Garner plays the in-swinging cross…
… which is headed away by Jordan Ayew and Gueye is in position to collect the ball and start the second phase of the corner.
The Senegal midfielder then plays it across the edge of the penalty box to Mykolenko…
… who immediately shoots on the volley, with his shot hitting the post before Abdoulaye Doucoure scores from the rebound.
The number of players outside the penalty area is adjusted depending on the game state, the opponent’s threat on counters and Everton’s need to score a goal.
Here, Everton only have five players inside the box because they have a 1-0 lead against Chelsea and a few minutes are remaining in the game.
Outside the penalty area, Patterson, Mykolenko and Lewis Dobbin are positioned by the edge of the box and Jarrad Branthwaite (out of shot) is deeper than them to protect against any possible counter-attack.
As customary, Garner plays the corner towards the six-yard area…
… and Djordje Petrovic only manages a weak punch because of the presence of Dwight McNeil. Meanwhile, Dobbin is in position to attack the ball on the second phase of the corner…
… and he rifles it into the net with a one-touch strike.
In the victory against Brentford on Saturday, Everton’s shooting on the second phase of corners resulted in the winner.
Here, Dyche’s side have six players inside the penalty area, Gueye and Jack Harrison positioned by the edge of the box, Young (out of shot) behind them, and McNeil taking the corner.
Gueye’s positioning allows him to recover Ivan Toney’s clearance…
… and he starts the second phase by immediately shooting, but his shot is blocked by Vitaly Janelt.
The Everton midfielder recovers the ball again and finds Harrison — the other player who was positioned by the edge of the box in the initial setup — in space…
… before the right-winger plays the ball to Branthwaite in front of the six-yard area. Continuing his proactivity on the second phase of the corner, Gueye moves again to the edge of the penalty area to be in position to shoot from the rebound…
… which proves fruitful when Nathan Collins tries to clear the ball and the Senegal midfielder attacks it to score the winner.
The second phase of a corner is unpredictable and random, but Everton have a clear strategy in case they don’t win the first contact: use the players by the edge of the box to shoot once it drops.
When you add that to the deep free kicks that are played into the Dyche Zone and their mastery of the back-post corner, Everton’s triple threat from set pieces is formed.
