It's two from two for Everton, and four goals for Thierno Barry since the start of the season, with Preston and Crystal Palace defeated.
More Videos
Everton secured an incredibly comfortable 4-0 victory over Preston North End in the second round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday night.
The Toffees opened the scoring after just 25 minutes, as Vitalii Mykolenko latched onto a superb lofted pass from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall. The Ukrainian left-back controlled well and remained patient, allowing Thierno Barry to burst into the penalty area.
Mykolenko laid the ball into the path of Barry, who fired home to put Everton in front.
Everton went into the break with a 1-0 lead. Although they were comfortable, enjoying 69% possession in the first half, you always felt that they needed to grab the second goal.
It didn't take long for Everton to find their second. Dewsbury-Hall’s volley was parried out straight into the path of Barry, who somewhat fortuitously flung out a leg and secured Everton's second.
Barry, who is starting to show some impressive form, later secured his first hat-trick for Everton, making a bursting run to the back post before he was superbly picked out by Brennan Johnson. Barry once again tapped into an empty net, but the desire to get there was admirable.
Just seconds later, Barry turned provider, winning the ball back in the final third before looking up to try to find a teammate. The French striker slotted a perfect throughball in behind the defence for Johnson to run onto, and he expertly finished under the goalkeeper to make it four.
Everton continued to dominate towards the end of the game and thoroughly deserved their 4-0 victory, taking the momentum from their opening Premier League win against Crystal Palace.
Now, on to the player ratings.
Jordan Pickford - 7
It was a comfortable evening for Pickford, who was called into action on one notable occasion, palming away an overhead attempt.
Action Images via Reuters
Action Images via Reuters
England's number one had little to do other than that save, but he played a crucial role in setting up Everton's third goal with some superb distribution.
Merlin Rohl - 7
A shaky moment or two for Merlin Rohl, but he was a constant option in the final third for Everton, and his energy was crucial throughout the game. It's clear to see he's not a natural right-back defensively, but there's no doubt he can be an option there for Everton.
James Tarkowski - 7
James Tarkowski did what he had to do in this game. The Everton centre-back touched the ball more than any other player, and he headed it and kicked it when he needed to.
Tarkowski was barely tested, but it was a solid performance from the centre-back.
Michael Keane - 7
It's a similar story for Michael Keane. The Everton defender had very little to do, but he dominated at the back, winning seven of his eight aerial duels.
Little to write home about when it comes to Keane's performance, but he barely put a foot on.
Vitalii Mykolenko - 8
Another really strong performance from Mykolenko. The Ukrainian left-back set up Everton's first goal and played a crucial part in their second.
Action Images via Reuters
Action Images via Reuters
Mykolenko looked to get forward as much as possible and was more of a creative threat than usual, while he looked solid defensively despite not being tested too often.
More of that please, Vitalii.
James Garner - 7
A fairly simple game for James Garner in this one, keeping things ticking from deep. He misplaced just three passes throughout the game and stopped multiple potentially threatening attacks from Preston.
Garner won six of his seven ground duels while also creating four chances.
A solid 64 minutes for Garner as he builds up his fitness following his injury.
Harrison Armstrong - 7
Harrison Armstrong certainly dropped off in comparison to his performance against Crystal Palace, but it was far from a disaster.
Armstrong looked to get forward at every opportunity to join in the attack, and he regularly kept things ticking alongside Garner.
It was a fairly easy night for both Garner and Armstrong in the middle of the park.
Tyler Dibling - 6
Flashes of brightness for Tyler Dibling, but also some sloppy moments.
Didn't really take his chance with both hands, and although he came incredibly close to scoring, he did feel like he could have done more.
He’s still a young lad learning his trade, and hopefully you can continue getting more minutes like this.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - 8
Dewsbury-Hall was involved in absolutely everything good from Everton.
He was a little sloppier than usual, but still made things happen in the final third despite not getting on the score sheet or producing an assist.
Action Images via Reuters
Action Images via Reuters
He played a superb pass to create the first goal, and it was his volley that led to Barry turning in the rebound.
It speaks volumes that this wasn't Dewsbury-Hall's best game, but he was still massively involved with Everton, scoring four goals.
Iliman Ndiaye - 7
I think it was a fairly average performance from Iliman Ndiaye, but he gets a seven as he was constantly looking to make things happen. He ended the game with four chances created, but often ran into trouble with his dribbling.
It felt like Ndiaye was trying a little too hard to make things happen at times when he could have played a little simpler.
Thierno Barry - 10
Wow, what a performance from the Everton striker.
Barry's all-round game was fantastic. Constantly holding the ball up and looking to bring others into play. The French forward also showed his creative side, creating more chances than any other player on the pitch.
It certainly wasn't fantastic finishes that got Barry on the score sheet three times, but his desire to get into dangerous areas was sensational. Particularly for the third goal, where he sprinted almost half the length of the pitch to run to the back post in order to tap into an empty net
An absolutely superb performance, and hopefully more to come.