Cenk Tosun says Everton need to be smarter when defending set-pieces

Tosun: "We have to be smarter and we have to do the things that the manager is asking for from us. We have to be more concentrated."

Monday 4 February 2019 17:53, UK

Cenk Tosun has called on Everton to be smarter when defending set-pieces ahead of their Premier League clash with Manchester City on Wednesday.

Defending set-pieces has been a huge problem for Marco Silva's side and they conceded their 11th goal from a free-kick or corner this season during a 3-1 defeat to Wolves on Saturday.

Tosun says it is something him and his team-mates are working hard to rectify ahead of Wednesday's meeting with title-challengers City.

"We have a lot of meetings with all the players together and we are improving every day," he told Sky Sports. "But we have to work on set-pieces a little more as a team.

"We have to be smarter and we have to do the things that the manager is asking for from us. We have to be more concentrated."

Defeat to Wolves means Everton, who have slipped to ninth in the league, have now just won one of their last six Premier League games at Goodison Park.

The Toffees, who have won just four of their last 14 games in all competitions, suffered their fourth home defeat of the league season, leading to more questions about Silva's future. However, with 13 games remaining in the season, Tosun has backed the club to turn things around, targeting European qualification.

"We have a good team and a good manager with perfect fans," he said. "We could do better. It's not the best season we've played but everything can a still happen.

"It's only February so there are still months to go and we want to finish as high as possible.

"We want to get into Europe if we can. There are still a lot of games to go and the next three are very important.

"A win [against Man City] would be a big help because we would get more confidence for the next games.

"We have difficult and important games in the next three games against City, Cardiff and Watford.

"They are important games for us and if we get a good result from the City game it will have a big impact for the next games."

Victory against City on Wednesday would see Everton move back up to eighth in the table and two points behind Wolves in seventh.

However, Tosun knows the challenge facing his side when they take on a City team he described as one of the best in the league.

"For me, they are one of the best teams in the Premier League with probably the best manager in the world," he said.

"We are preparing well for the game though and we have done our analysis. We are 100 percent focused for the game and I trust my team-mates. I hope we will get a good result on Wednesday."