Everton Continue Remarkable Defensive Turnaround to Trail Man City in 2019 Clean Sheet Race

Everton may have spent big this summer in order to strengthen their squad, but in keeping a clean sheet against Crystal Palace on Saturday, they kept up a remarkable defensive record since the turn of the year.

Marco Silva's tenure at Goodison Park was initially blighted by lapses in concentration at the back and an inability to defend set-pieces. However, it appears that he has finally found the magic formula to tighten up his leaky backline.

Yerry Mina,Christian Benteke

The goalless draw with Palace on Saturday maintained a remarkable turn in defensive fortunes for Silva's side, with Opta stats revealing after the game that this was the Toffees' 11th clean sheet since the year began.

Only Pep Guardiola's Manchester City have a better record - the Citizens keeping 13 clean sheets, including one on Saturday during their 5-0 drubbing of West Ham at the London Stadium.


​Everton's 11 clean sheets may come as a surprise to some, but Silva has clearly identified his side's flaws and worked on improving their previously shoddy defensive displays. Even the dismissal of Morgan Schneiderlin did not perturb his defence, with 15 minutes of play against the

Eagles seen off despite their numerical disadvantage.

Andros Townsend,Michael Keane

Silva's side have been active in the transfer window, again investing heavily in their attacking options - as well as adding to their already impressive midfield depth.

Andre Gomes has been brought in on a permanent basis, while moves for Moise Kean, Jean-Philippe Gbamin, Alex Iwobi, Fabian Delph, and Jonas Lössl have also been finalised in the close season.


Source : 90min