"I was working a lot during the summer and now we can see the result," Thierno Barry said after another decisive night for Everton. The striker has 4 Premier League goals in 9 appearances this season, after 8 goals in 41 appearances last season. That is a sharp return for a player who was under pressure to deliver more in his second year in England.

Barry's turnaround

Barry's own words fit the numbers. He said, "The season is long but I'm happy to help the team with my goals," and that is exactly the job Everton need from him now. He has been involved in 15 of Everton's 24 big chances before Monday's match, which is 62.5%, so the goals have not come from nowhere.

The contrast with last season is obvious enough. Barry reached 8 goals across 41 appearances in that campaign, then got to 4 Premier League goals in just 9 league games this time around. He also said, "I want to enjoy more than last season and I enjoyed my celebration so I am happy."

Everton's reliance on Barry

David Moyes said, "We're thrilled he's getting the goals because you need your centre-forward to score. He has missed a few but thankfully tonight he was on the spot to get the goal." Everton are relying on Barry as their only recognised senior striker after Beto's move to Fiorentina, which makes the scoring run more important than a short burst of form.

There is also the way he is arriving in chances. Barry had just one shot across his first 16 Everton games, so the current output looks less like a lucky patch and more like a player who has found a better rhythm in front of goal. Jamie Carragher also summed up the balance of it after Monday's game: "We know Barry misses chances, but we also know this season he keeps going and he scores goals."

The latest goal came against Newcastle for the second time in five days, and Newcastle manager Matthias Jaissle said there was a clear foul on Fabian Schar in the build-up. Barry's run will keep drawing attention, but the plain fact is that Everton now have a striker scoring at a far better rate than they did last season, and they need that to continue against Newcastle and beyond.

Written by Jack Mercer with AI-assisted research, cross-checked against 2 outlets. How we work →