Lukaku fires blank as Everton draw at West Ham

English Premier League top scorer, Romelu Lukaku, couldn’t add to his score sheet as Everton missed the chance to move into the top five with a goalless draw against West Ham on Saturday.

Lukaku, who has scored 24 goals in the league this season, was reduced to a passenger and was kept quiet by West Ham’s excellent defence, his only effort in the game coming from a blocked shot.

After a dire first half from both sides, it took Everton until the 70th minute to register their first shot and they did not manage an effort on target in the game.

The visitors had the opportunity to leapfrog Arsenal and Manchester United into fifth place with a win, but their poor away form continued, as they have now won just twice on their travels in their last 13 games.

It was the home side who looked most like scoring after the break, but they continually wasted chances as the game petered out.

Everton manager Ronald Koeman was disappointed after the game. He said: “It was really far from what we are used to, from the first minute to the last second.

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“We didn’t get the intensity. It was a poor performance with a lot of negatives.

“One positive is we kept a clean sheet. We like to perform to a certain level and it was far from that.

“I wasn’t happy at half-time so we tried to do something. I couldn’t change four, five, six or seven. But I changed two to give a signal to the team.

“We need wins now to get a chance of sixth or fifth place.”

However, with the one point grabbed, West Ham is closer to Premier League
safety on 38 points, seven clear of Swansea in 18th, with four games remaining.

“I am really pleased with the performance, I could not ask any more from my players. In terms of effort, dedication and determination, they get top marks. If any team deserved three points it was us,” Hammer’s boss Slaven Bilic said after the draw.

 

 

 

 

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