It was hard not to feel sorry for Christian Nørgaard last Saturday.
Of course, it’s all relative. There’s only so much sympathy you can feel for a professional, highly paid athlete who has had an absolute horror show, but nevertheless, there is a wider context surrounding the Dane’s Everton debut that can’t be ignored.
Nørgaard came on in the 85th minute, and he had a shocker.
He lost both of the 2 duels he contested, lost possession 4 times, committed the foul that eventually resulted in Chelsea’s second goal and, generally, was just given the absolute run-around by players who were sharper, fitter and just better than him.
This is where the wider context comes in to play.
Nørgaard has not featured since the end of last season. He arrived with a hamstring injury but Everton believed he would recover from it soon enough.
Unfortunately, he subsequently developed tendinitis, and that kept him out until the international break, when he finally returned to training.
Nørgaard featured in the bounce game against Blackburn Rovers, but David Moyes stressed prior to the trip to Hull City that he was not fully fit yet.
He was in the squad, but did not feature.
For Moyes to then throw him in, at the time he did, against Chelsea, was absolute madness, and the Scot should take the blame for that.
Yet that can’t excuse just how rusty Nørgaard was. At times, it was humiliating, and it was a Mo Besic level of debut in all honesty. In fact, it was probably worse, given Besic really just made the one (glaring) error. Nørgaard was just all at sea.
It was worrying just how slow he looked. The 32-year-old has never had much pace, but he was getting legged with ease, to use an old school term.
The concern started immediately, as he failed to reach an (admittedly loose) pass from Tyrique George and was then swarmed on, resulting in Chelsea breaking and Joao Pedro getting a shot off and forcing Jordan Pickford into a save.
And while, given how bad his cameo was, this may seem counter-productive, perhaps the best way for Moyes to get Nørgaard up to speed now, is to simply start him.
If that is really Moyes’ desperate need, then just play him from the off. Let him work his way into a game, feel his way into a performance and not have to come into a match when every other player is already into their rhythm.
And given it is Arsenal up next, when Moyes is likely going to opt to sit deep and aim to frustrate the reigning Premier League champions, then maybe this is the ideal time to put Nørgaard in.
He will have had another week of training. The midfield balance is not working and having a player who wants to sit in front of the defence and tidy things up could be just what’s needed.
There is also the added bonus of Nørgaard knowing Arsenal inside out, given he was part of the Gunners’ squad last season.
He will be desperate to make up for his dismal start, too, and having that hunger in the belly will be another motivating factor.
Nørgaard can, and hopefully will, still go on to become a key part of this Everton team, but it’s fair to say he’s got a lot to make up for.
Whether he starts at the Emirates or has to wait a little longer for his full Everton debut, he must swiftly put that Chelsea nightmare behind him.
Read more – ToffeeWeb Talk: Reaction to the Chelsea defeat and the next test at Arsenal – Episode 10