thierno-barry-everton-coventry
Everton extended their run of successive wins to three matches on Friday night as they beat Coventry City 3-1 at the Hill Dickinson in the Premier League.
The Toffees came into the game off the back of two wins against Newcastle United, one in the league and one in the cup, and carried their strong form into this clash.
dewsbury-hall-tarkowski-everton
It is a win that has David Moyes' side in fifth place in the Premier League table prior to the games taking place on Saturday and Sunday before the international break.
A return of four wins, four draws, and two defeats, irrespective of what happens elsewhere this weekend, is a very strong start to the campaign for the club.
How Everton's win over Coventry unfolded
After a dismal first-half for the neutrals, with the score locked at 0-0, it was Coventry who struck first through Yann Gboho, who brilliantly controlled the ball and poked it past Jordan Pickford to make it 1-0 in the 52nd minute.
Yann-gboho-coventry-everton
Everton's positive approach to the game, though, meant that they were able to find an almost-instant reply, as Thierno Barry headed in an equaliser just four minutes later.
One became two very quickly for the French centre-forward. Five minutes after making it 1-1, he latched onto Tyrique Geroge's cross and bundled the ball past Carl Rushworth.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall then wrapped up the three points for the hosts when he made a terrific run in behind the defence and caught the goalkeeper out at his near post to make it 3-1 with nine minutes to play.
How Thierno Barry stole the show for Everton
Barry was, undoubtedly, the star of the show for the Toffees on Friday night because he was directly involved in all three of the club's goals in the 3-1 win.
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Vs Coventry Thierno Barry
Minutes 90
Touches 36
Shots 6
Goals 2
Chances created 1
Assists 1
Successful dribbles 2/3
Duels won 9/16
The 24-year-old attacker was a constant threat with and without the ball throughout the 90 minutes for Everton, as he won the majority of his duels and racked up two goals and an assist.
Barry, who has now scored ten goals in 13 appearances in all competitions this season, showcased how much of an impact he can have in every phase of play, by winning duels, dribbling past players, creating chances, and taking shots.
The former Villarreal marksman looks like a new man without competition from Beto, after only scoring eight times last term, and he looks to be thriving as the star of the show for Moyes.
Saved by Barry: 5/10 Everton star is heading for the bench
One of the Frenchman's teammates may be thankful that Barry turned up on the night, as it took some of the attention away from his performance against the Sky Blues.
Jack Grealish for Everton
Jack Grealish for Everton
Harrison Armstrong was selected to play in the middle of the park next to James Garner and has now started all ten of the club's matches in the Premier League this season.
It may finally be time for the Scottish head coach to drop the academy graduate from the starting line-up on the other side of the international break after a disappointing display against Coventry.
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Rating Everton starters vs Coventry
Jordan Pickford
Merlin Rohl
James Tarkowski
Jarrad Branthwaite
Vitaliy Mykolenko
Harrison Armstrong
James Garner
Tyler Dibling
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall
Tyrique George
Thierno Barry
The 19-year-old talent was incredibly safe with his use of the ball, completing 87% of his attempted passes and only creating 0.01 xA, and slowed the play down a bit too much at times when Everton had the chance to break forward with numbers.
It was his work out of possession that is more of a concern, though, because the central midfielder lost 75% (6/8) of his physical duels on the ground and in the air during the match.
harrison-armstrong-everton-coventry
Armstrong was dribbled past three times in the 90 minutes, more than any other Everton player, and his struggles defensively left the Toffees far too open at times.
Thankfully, Taiwo Awoniyi wasted several huge opportunities for Coventry to take advantage of two or three-on-one counter-attacks after Armstrong was bypassed, but Everton may not have had the same luck against a higher grade of opposition.
Everton manager David Moyes
Everton manager David Moyes
Barry's two goals and his assist and Coventry's lack of efficiency saved the teenage midfielder from contributing to a disappointing result for Moyes.