Everton looking impressive in the Europa League

Belgium striker Romelu Lukaku opened the scoring in Everton’s 2-0 win at Wolfsburg in the Europa League on Thursday night

Everton won 2-0 at in-form German side Wolfsburg in the Europa League last night to clinch their place in the knockout stages and their place as winners of Group H.

The Toffees may have had some luck at times, but their all-round performance probably merited the win.

Luck

Everton did have a huge slice of luck when the game was still 0-0, as a perfectly legitimate Ivan Perisic goal was ruled out for offside. Replays showed that the Croatian was played onside by Everton centre-back Phil Jagielka.

The incorrect decision came at a crucial stage of the game with the home side looking the more likely to break the deadlock.

Instead just before half-time Everton striker Romelu Lukaku strode away from the Wolves defence and kept his composure to fire low past Diego Benaglio in the Wolfsburg goal.

Everton fans could rightly point out that midfield starlet Ross Barkley also had a goal disallowed that was very tight and could have gone either way.

Clinical

Wolfsburg looked dangerous and controlled the possession for much of the game. However, they did not have the cutting edge and were not clinical enough in front of goal. They fired in shot after shot and a lot of those efforts were off target.

On the other hand Everton’s Lukaku and later Kevin Mirallas took their chances with composure. The big difference between the two teams was that the Everton forwards were simply just far more clinical in front of goal.

Counter

In many ways Everton produced the perfect away performance in Europe. The Toffees soaked up the pressure that the home side had thrown at them and hit them on the break when possible. In players like Lukaku, Mirallas, Aiden McGeady and Samuel Eto’o they have the perfect players to hit teams on the break.

Experience

The former three have pace, while Eto’o is a man that more often than not knows the right pass to play. His experience could be vital for Everton this season, especially in Europe. The former-Barcelona star seems to be enjoying his role on Merseyside and Everton’s youngsters could benefit from his experience.

Questions were being asked about Roberto Martinez’s decision to sign the Cameroonian in the summer, but Eto’o has so far proven to be a very shrewd signing.

Injuries

The fact that Everton got such a good result in Germany against the team placed second in the Bundesliga is made even more impressive by the Toffees absentees. The likes of Seamus Coleman, Leighton Baines, Gareth Barry and Steven Naismith were all missing.

It got even worse for Everton when Republic of Ireland midfielder James McCarthy picked-up what looked like a re-occurrence of a hamstring injury in the first half and had to be replaced.  However, the remaining fit Everton players battled on and claimed a very good result.

Young full-back Luke Garbutt has to receive a special mention. The 21-year-old has only ever made one Premier League appearance for the Toffees and last night was his European debut. Filling the boots of Leighton Baines was always going to be a difficult task, but he did it with a quiet confidence.

The England under-21 international did not look out of place, as he got forward to help out the Everton attack, as well as looking solid in defence. It seems that Garbutt is likely to continue to deputise for Baines until his return from injury.

Suited

Everton have endured a mixed campaign so far, as their Premier League form has been inconsistent so far this season. However, in Europe Toffees boss Roberto Martinez has showed off his tactical acumen.

The Spaniard had been praised for his tactical abilities in the past, but it was not till Everton’s fifth place finish last season that people really started to believe in the Spaniard. His style of play is ideally suited to European competition, but Everton fans will be hoping the European form will now spread to the domestic campaign.

Dangerous

With every European game Everton plays this season they look more confident and dangerous. The Toffees have to be considered dangerous opponents to any team in the competition and are odds of 14/1 to win the competition.

With everybody fit and a slice of luck the Toffees could go far in this competition and there are very few teams in the Europa League who would want to take on the boys in blue at the moment. Just how far the Toffees go in the competition depends on how lucky they are with injuries.

The Toffees have endured some terrible luck with injuries this season. If they can keep everybody fit then Everton will give any team in the competition a game and at this present moment have to be considered as serious contenders to win the competition.

How far can Everton go in the Europa League?