Marco Silva’s set-piece problems haven’t been resolved since 2017

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Everton boss Marco Silva is under serious pressure after winning just two of his side’s opening eight Premier League games.

A lot was expected of Everton this season after a fairly successful summer transfer window. The Toffees acquired some big names in Andre Gomes, Moise Kean, Jean-Philippe Gbamin and Alex Iwobi but things have gone downhill since deadline day.

Marco Silva has been under the spotlight as Everton are stuck in 18th position, level on points with 19th-placed Norwich City.

The recent defeat to Burnley highlighted what has been an Achilles heel for Marco Silva since he came into the Premier League over two and a half years ago – set pieces.

The Portuguese tactician was appointed by Hull City in January 2017 before jumping ship to Watford after the Tigers’ relegation. Silva was sacked by the Hornets less than a year after his appointment due to Everton’s approach for him. His Toffees tenure has mainly been positive but his failure to solve his biggest issue could end everything.

Marco Silva’s Hull, Watford and Everton have conceded a combined 45 goals from set-pieces since January 2017. If the Portuguese had found a way to solve the issue, Hull City could well have stayed up in his first stint as a Premier League manager.

Out of the 45 goals conceded, 22 have come in his tenure at Everton. The latest one came at the weekend when Burnley’s Jeff Hendrick scored from a corner in the 72nd minute which handed the Toffees their fourth loss of the season.

Kurt Zouma’s loss was indeed a big blow as he played a major part in shutting up shop for Everton at the back end of last season. The Toffees kept eight clean sheets in 10 games in the business end of last season which hinted serious improvement but that hasn’t at all reflected so far this campaign.

Silva’s job at Goodison Park is already under threat after the disastrous start to the season and if he further ignores his recurring problems, he might find himself out of the door in the very near future.