Romelu Lukaku returned to form as Everton smashed through Young Boys in Thursday’s Europa League Round of 32 first leg, the resumption of Thursday night football doing wonders for the struggling Premier League side. The hope at Goodison Park now is that the momentum carries over to the league, where a run of good results is desperately needed.
The Toffees have recorded only two league wins in their last 10 attempts, beating Queens Park Rangers at home in mid-December and Crystal Palace away in late January. In that time they’ve also gone out of the FA Cup in an epic replay at West Ham and, having been eliminated at the first attempt from the Capital One Cup, by Swansea City way back in September, the Europa League appears the only way to salvage a disappointing season.
Mid-table mediocrity after brushing against the relegation zone is not what was expected from Roberto Martinez’s second year in charge. Yet should the former Wigan Athletic manager deliver Everton’s first silverware since 1995, all would largely be forgiven. William Hill offers the best options to bet on football and on the evidence from Switzerland, Everton look genuine contenders to be celebrating come the Europa League final, in Warsaw on May 27.
The Merseyside club’s European record has been better than their domestic results throughout the season. Why that’s the case is hard to pin down, particularly as the group in which they were drawn, with Wolfsburg, Krasnodar and Lille, was generally agreed to be one of the more difficult in the competition. Young Boys also have a sterling record at home in Europe, so it’s not as if Everton have had an easy ride. 11 points from a possible 18 were taken in Group H while Everton’s only defeat came in the dead rubber final round of matches. If anything, they made it look easy.
It’s quite a contrast to a Premier League run that included four straight defeats over Christmas and New Year, extended to a run of six winless games with draws against Manchester City and West Bromwich Albion. The Europa League break between group stage and knockout rounds didn’t herald an upturn in Everton’s league form so perhaps the tournament’s return can jolt Everton back into life. Evertonians may accept a bottom-half finish in return for lifting a trophy at the end of the season, but it would be an uncomfortable road getting there.
