Chris Beesley with the big Everton talking points from their match at the Etihad Stadium against Manchester City
ECHO Everton reporter Chris Beesley has covered Everton and Liverpool both in the Premier League and abroad since 2005. He cut his teeth in professional sports journalism at the Ellesmere Port Pioneer and then the Welsh edition of the Daily Post, where he also covered Manchester United. Prior to that he worked on the student newspaper Pluto at the University of Central Lancashire, a role in which he first encountered David Moyes. Chris is well-known for his sartorial elegance and the aforementioned Scottish manager once enquired of him at a press conference: "Is that your dad's suit you've got on?" while the tradition continued in 2023 with new Blues boss Sean Dyche complimenting him on his smart appearance.
David Moyes saw Beto fail in front of goal again
David Moyes saw Beto fail in front of goal again(Image: Getty Images)
View Image
A tale of two strikers
The best centre-forwards have always cost the big money so despite breaking Everton’s transfer record three times during his first spell on frontmen and the Blues’ rich tradition for number nines, a hallmark of David Moyes’ sides has often been having the most potent performers in the attacking midfield areas. That remains the case this term as despite having two clear options vying to spearhead the attack, this team continues to feel ‘striker light.’
For almost an hour, Everton’s stubborn resistance had their hosts getting increasingly frustrated and it wasn’t just a rearguard action with Moyes’ men being more than a match for Pep Guardiola’s side but while striker Beto has netted just once all season – and his back-up Thierno Barry, who replaced him with 15 minutes to go, has yet to find the net – Haaland continues to be prolific with this brace taking his tally for club and country to 23 for this term alone, a total that many frontmen would be proud of come May, never mind before the clocks go back.
Moyes, 62, now the Premier League’s oldest and most-experienced active manager – only serial title winners Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger have taken charge of more games in the competition – is long enough in the tooth to have been in the dugout before City’s petrodollar-fuelled revolution took place. When Sheikh Mansour first took over, the Glaswegian gaffer compared trying to compete against their new-found wealth as like “taking a knife to a gunfight.”
But while he was still able to give them a bloody nose back then, with a dozen wins during his first spell at Everton, including five at the Etihad, the momentum has long since shifted in this fixture with Guardiola’s side now unbeaten in their last 16 games in all competitions. And here, the Blues attack, led by Beto, wouldn’t cut through butter, while Haaland remains razor sharp.
Iliman Ndiaye twice put chances on a plate for Beto only for the striker to fluff his lines on both occasions. Firstly, he failed to make a clean connection on Ndiaye’s inviting low cross and then, when picked out by a threaded pass, the assistant referee’s flag going up for offside spared his blushes as his shot went wide.
Speaking in his pre-match press conference, Moyes backed Beto’s attitude, remarking: “The boy is mad to do the work. He’s a brilliant, brilliant lad and his dedication to try and himself is second to none, so you can only praise him for that.”
The Scot also admitted that the team had perhaps not been playing to the 27-year-old's strengths, but here he had the opportunities, but like when on international duty for Guinea-Bissau last week in Ethiopia, he was unable to take them.
Ndiaye’s early flourish
It takes some doing when you’re up against a Manchester City squad with a combined valuation of over a billion pounds and you’re still the best player on the pitch, but that’s where Iliman Ndiaye was at in the first half and it must be immensely frustrating for both the player himself and his Everton team-mates that they were unable to capitalise on that early dominance from him.
After earning a reputation as the Blues’ magic man in his first season on Merseyside while mostly operating on the left wing, Ndiaye has had to switch flanks this term – because of the arrival of Jack Grealish, who of course couldn’t play here – but he’s adapted quickly to the role he has already fulfilled on a regular basis for Senegal. Last Tuesday, the 25-year-old, who helped the Lions of Teranga clinch their spot in next summer’s World Cup finals with an eye-catching solo goal in a 4-0 romp that had echoes of his strike against Everton’s next opponents Tottenham Hotspur at Goodison Park last season, but then again, Manchester City are a sterner test than Mauritania.
Although Ndiaye, whose baptism of fire in senior football came little more than a Jordan Pickford punt away from the Etihad Stadium on loan at Hyde United, helped himself to 11 goals in his debut season on Merseyside, he was a taker rather than maker of chances. Cutting inside on his right foot on the left flank, there were no assists for him in 2024/25, but having already provided one for Idrissa Gueye in the Merseyside Derby and putting in the cross for the Blues’ stoppage time winner against Crystal Palace last time out, those two opportunities he presented for Beto were inviting to say the least and crying out to be tucked away.
With Tyler Dibling, Everton’s biggest signing of the summer, continuing to find his feet, Ndiaye’s adaptation could buy the Blues some crucial time. He was also denied a goal himself here by Gianluigi Donnarumma’s brilliance but thankfully who won’t be up against goalkeepers as world-class as the Italy international most weeks.
Charly’s choices
If Ndiaye isn’t having too many teething problems when switching roles, the same cannot be said for Charly Alcaraz. Inspirational after coming on as a half-time substitute when Everton desperately needed a shot in the arm a fortnight ago, the Argentinian’s ability to carry the ball and drive at opponents helped turn the momentum against Crystal Palace.
But that was with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall suspended and with the £25million summer signing from Chelsea now available again after serving his one-match suspension, the most orthodox move was to see him restored to his central role behind the striker while Alcaraz took the ineligible Jack Grealish’s spot on the left. The recruit from Flamengo, who produced several promising displays while on loan in the second half of last season, can still fashion his fair share of big moments for the Blues this term – with Moyes acknowledging the need to have game-changing options – but he’s hardly a like-for-like replacement for the first £100million English footballer.
Out wide rather than being the centre of attention and operating in rather different circumstances, Alcaraz often cut a frustrated figure at the Etihad before Moyes took him off and while Dewsbury-Hall is clearly a precocious talent himself – other than his maiden strike at Wolves on August 30 – he too is struggling to replicate the marauding form displayed on his debut against Roma that had Evertonians purring about what he could bring to the side.
Dibling and Dwight McNeil both got late cameos here as the game was gone and would be expected to remain on the bench against Spurs, but with Grealish back next weekend, and Ndiaye looking a cert to retain his spot, Alcaraz must see this as a missed opportunity to try and re-establish himself among Moyes’ starters.
Everton launch kit and merch sale
This article contains affiliate links, we will receive a commission on any sales we generate from it. Learn more
Content Image
Content Image