What changed
Thierno Barry has turned a nightmare Everton debut season into a rapid revival. The 24-year-old scored against Newcastle for the second time in five days, helping Everton win at St James’ Park and move up to seventh in the Premier League.
Barry has now scored eight goals in 12 games this season, matching his total from 41 appearances last year. Everton paid Villarreal £27m for him last summer, and with Beto transferred to Fiorentina, Barry is now the club’s only recognised senior striker.
Why it matters
Everton are no longer waiting for Barry to settle. They are relying on him every week, and he is finally giving them goals in return.
His importance is visible in the chances he creates and receives. Before Monday’s match, Everton had recorded 24 big chances in the Premier League. Barry had been involved in 15 of them, or 62.5%.
He is still far from flawless. He scuffed a one-on-one against Newcastle, and his goal was a simple tap-in from two yards. But that is part of the point: a striker who keeps arriving in the right places can survive missed chances if he continues finishing enough of them.
Barry said he worked hard over the summer and is now seeing the result. His new celebration, a knee slide followed by dancing, looked like the public version of that change. Last season he posted a video of himself breaking down during a private training session. Now he looks central to David Moyes’ attack.
The goal remains disputed. Newcastle manager Matthias Jaissle said there was a clear foul on Fabian Schär in the build-up. And whether Barry can maintain this scoring rate is still unknown. For now, though, Everton have their main striker producing at the moment they need him most.
Comments
No comments yet.