Everton acquired the services of Abdoulaye Doucoure from Watford last season. The Frenchman appeared in 29 Premier League matches for the Toffees and scored two goals, assisting three times. This season he has already made four goal contributions in five matches played.
Doucoure is the top goal contributor for Everton this season. The four goal contributions include one goal and three assists. The other players in the above list play in a more advanced position than Doucoure and he is ranked very high amongst them. Doucoure scored against Southampton in the first game week of the season. Then in the next match against Leeds, he assisted Damarai Gray. In the fourth match against Burnley, he provided two assists in the game.
The above viz is a pass map of the first five games of last season and this season. Last season most of the passes were towards the right side and in the defensive third. Doucoure provided one assist in the process. This season his pass map is a lot different from the previous one. The passes are attempted all over the pitch, and he has covered both sides of the pitch. Doucoure already has three assists to his name, and we can see that more passes are attempted into the opposition penalty box this season.
The 2020/21 season heatmap shows that Doucoure was playing on the right and his average position was inside his own half. It looks like that he played the role of a defensive midfielder. The heat map this season is very different for the midfielder. He has played as a box-to-box midfielder and has covered both sides of the pitch. He has taken a more advanced position and this has allowed him to contribute more towards the goal.
When looking at the above chart, the general rule is that the longer the bar the better the performance – you can see the league average in the middle and the % is the percentile rank the player is in.
Doucoure has also contributed to the defensive side of the team. His aerial duels win percentage is one of the best this season. The defensive duels win percentage is less for the Frenchman.
Doucoure has a high recovery rate than most of the players this season. He averages 10 recoveries per match and four of those recoveries are in the opposition box. The midfielder also averages around four interceptions per match.
Doucoure has played in a more advanced position under Rafael Benitez. The Spanish coach has used him as a box-to-box midfielder and has already benefitted from that. Last season he played a more defensive role. It looks like that he could remain a regular starter for Benitez for the rest of the season.
