Analysis as Everton earned a superb 1-0 win over Bournemouth at the Vitality Stadium
All those glass half empty Evertonians should take a moment to pause and reflect on the fact that the club’s most valuable player Jarrad Branthwaite has not even kicked a ball for the first team all season.
The potentially generational talent, who could still yet emerge as the most dominant ball-playing defender in the game, demonstrated his commitment to the Blues’ new dawn by penning a five-year deal, but has been left hamstrung throughout 2025/26 to date and is not expected back until the new calendar year.
In his absence, Everton stalwart Michael Keane, now in his ninth season at the club, has gone from being a supposed bit-part player and fourth choice in the role having signed his own one-year extension, to the most consistent member of the side, who, up until this fixture, had started every game. So, taking the 32-year-old out of the side at Bournemouth acted as a double whammy for David Moyes, as it caused two positional changes due to Jake O’Brien switching from right-back to centre-back.
Although the former Olympique Lyonnais man was reverted to his natural role, the truth is that the lion’s share of his time as a Premier League player to date has been at right-back, but here he looked like he’d never been away. Slotting in seamlessly, on the left-hand side of the duo too, he also brought the best out of James Tarkowski, who returned to form despite having yet another partner alongside him.
O’Brien has had to win his spurs in an otherwise alien role, but perhaps like Joleon Lescott under Moyes, he will go on to flourish in the heart of defence? This offered a tantalising glimpse into the future.
Patched up side
As already mentioned, with O’Brien switching to centre-back, the knock-on effect on this Everton team was like dominoes. Moyes was already short of numbers in central midfield through Idrissa Gueye’s suspension and Merlin Rohl’s injury, so having to shunt Garner to right-back would have been particularly frustrating, but as always, the Birkenhead-born player slotted in without fuss to produce a measured display for his team.
Those issues in the engine room could be about to get bigger with Tim Iroegbunam having picked up a yellow card that will see him joining Gueye in being ruled out of Sean Dyche’s Blues return with Nottingham Forest on Saturday. Here though, the former Aston Villa man, bounced back strongly from the ragged showing that saw him hooked at the interval against Newcastle United to produce a far more measured display, especially given that he collected that booking midway through the first half.
Alongside him was Kieran Dewsbury-Hall, the scorer of two wonderful goals in the previous two matches, but asked to go deep again here like he did at Manchester United after the second off. While the £25million signing from Chelsea likes operating behind the striker, he showed he can still be a potent attacking tool when coming from further back.
Dewsbury-Hall’s usual spot was occupied by Charly Alcaraz and while it was something of a mixed bag from the Argentinian, he ultimately ended up playing the pass that set up the only goal of the game, showing again how he is a player capable of producing match-winning moments as either a maker or taker of chances.
Changing the tune
As painful as it was, Everton’s previously wretched record away to Manchester United had mitigating factors, not least the presence of Sir Alex Ferguson’s the 13-times Premier League winning manager for the first couple of decades in the competition’s history. However, having recorded just their third Premier League success at Old Trafford in 33 years and becoming the first visitors to triumph there in the competition with 10 men, the Blues have followed up that landmark result at the division’s biggest stadium with a maiden success at the smallest one.
It was rather more inexplicable that Everton had never picked up three points at a venue smaller than League Two neighbours Tranmere Rovers’ Prenton Park, or indeed the South Stand alone at Hill Dickinson Stadium. But – having picked up five away wins under Moyes last season – another monkey is now off their backs on their travels.
While the Blues had struggled here in the past, their Glaswegian gaffer had fared better personally, having never lost at the Vitality Stadium in the Premier League. That nous was evident here as his charges produced an impressive away performance from the start and then secured the spoils with their moment of quality.