Alan Shearer has criticised Everton strikers Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Neal Maupay for their “embarrassing” goalscoring stats.
The Toffees picked up a vital 1-0 win against relegation rivals Leeds United on Saturday afternoon thanks to an unusual Seamus Coleman goal.
It was a brutal day for the Whites, who fell into the relegation zone and were the only side in the bottom four at the beginning of the day to fail to win.
The Yorkshire club are still on the search for a new permanent manager after sacking Jesse Marsch and a return to the Championship is looking more likely after every game.
Michael Skubala has been in charge of three Premier League matches, losing two in a row after an impressive 2-2 draw at Manchester United.
Leeds had identified Rayo Vallecano boss Andoni Iraola as their number-one choice to succeed Marsch, but the Spanish club would not let him leave.
After another poor result, Newcastle United legend Shearer has ripped into Leeds, who looked “pretty clueless” going forward.
“(They) never had a shot on target today,” Shearer said on Match of the Day. “They were pretty clueless upfront. They had no options whatsoever.
“Yes, Everton defended well. (But there were a lot of) long hopeful balls up.
“I mean, look at the reaction from Bamford here as if to say ‘what on earth am I meant to do with that?’
“They offered very, very little threat. With 10 minutes, they get a free kick, 1-0 down, and that’s (kicked out for a goal kick) what they do. Big problems for Leeds.”
Despite the win for the Toffees, Shearer voiced his concerns about Maupay and Calvert-Lewin’s form in front of goal.
Signed for around £15million last summer, Maupay has only scored one goal in 18 matches across all competitions this season.
Calvert-Lewin, on the other hand, has had his fair share of injuries over the last two years and his goalscoring touch seems to have deserted him over that time.
Like Maupay, the Everton striker only has one goal this term after netting five times in 18 matches in 2021-22.
“They’re so poor in forward positions,” Shearer added. “Just look at their centre forwards there, Maupay and Calvert-Lewin in particular.
“It’s a bit harsh on [Ellis] Simms, but the other two, pretty embarrassing stats those.
“He changed it around today, he put Maupay in ahead of Simms. You’ve got to think make some movement. That looks to me like ‘I don’t really want to get in there, because I’m frightened to miss’. And you’re never going to score goals if you’ve got that attitude.”
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