The image of David Moyes’ hands on his head at the stroke of half-time was an appropriate metaphor for their season opener against Leeds United at Elland Road.
In the first half, the Toffees failed to get out of their own half and retreated into a shell as Leeds dictated proceedings. A much-improved performance in the second half counted for nothing, as a harsh penalty call ultimately decided the fate of Everton's season-opener in Yorkshire.
With Jarrad Branthwaite and Vitalii Mykolenko out of contention, Moyes was forced to play James Garner at left-back. Most of the first half was played in Everton’s half, with the Blues having only one touch in the opposition penalty area for the first 45 minutes.
Daniel Farke set up the Leeds press high in the first half and the onus was on James Tarkowski and Jordan Pickford to find Beto with their long balls, but such attempts hardly proved successful. Jake O’Brien and Tim Iroegbunam were kept busy by Wilfriend Gnonto and Gabriel Gudmundssoen while Garner had more success on his flank up against Dan James.
After a dispiriting first half, the game opened up more in the second 45 minutes. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall dropped in to help Gueye shield the defensive line while Iroegbunam pushed forward. Leeds players also looked tired after an intense first half which allowed the Blues to take up dangerous positions in the midfield and the final third.
Jack Grealish made his debut for Everton after coming off the bench in the 75th minute and immediately took up the slot on the left flank, pushing Iliman Ndiaye to the opposite flank instead.
Charly Alcaraz, now playing in midfield after the Grealish substitution, slipped while Everton were trying to build from the back, inviting Leeds to create chances close to the box. Tarkowski tried to put his body in the way of Anton Stach’s powerful shot, but despite having his arm in a natural position, the referee decided to award the hosts a penalty for handball.
Lukas Nmecha scored from 12 yards with his first kick of the game six minutes before the 90th minute and that was that. Lack of depth on the bench also hurt the side here as Moyes brought on only two players in the second half, with Thierno Barry coming on just four minutes before the end.
Player ratings for Everton against Leeds United:
Jordan Pickford - 5
Made a big save off Joel Piroe inside the first five minutes and thwarted an attempt off Anton Stach towards the end. He looked shaky while coming out to collect crosses and corners in the first half.
Jake O’Brien - 5
Struggled to deal with the pace of Gnonto in the first half and failed to progress the play. Got better in the second half.
James Tarkowski - 5
Failed to deal with a ball into the path of Joel Piroe early on. Passing out from the back was poor in the first half. While he had a better second 45 and made a few interceptions high up the pitch, the Everton captain was wrongly adjudged to have handled the ball, leading to a penalty. Almost redeemed himself at the end, but his glancing header looped over the bar
Michael Keane - 5
Sloppy and slow to react defensively on a few occasions. Failed to deal with the Leeds United pressure and kept playing the ball to Tarkowski to bail them out, leading to Everton's build-up struggles in the first-half.
James Garner - 6
Garner did reasonably well despite playing out of position. He kept Dan James quiet and provided good defensive cover.
Idrissa Gana Gueye - 5
Uncharacteristically bad game from Idrissa Gueye, who looked more lively off the ball than on it. Made a few interceptions but failed to impose himself in the middle of the park.
Tim Iroegbunam (off at 70’) - 4
Iroegbunam spent most of the first half trying to help O’Brien deal with Gnonto and Gudmondsson. Didn’t have a lot of influence on the game. He went into the referee’s book after a sloppy challenge on Ethan Ampadu before getting replaced by Grealish after 70 minutes.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - 5
Led the press for Everton in the first half along with Beto and besides a few composed touches here and there, failed to have a major impact. Dropped deeper to support Gueye in the second half, which allowed the Blues to push up more.
Charly Alcaraz (off at 86’) - 4
Charly Alcaraz is just not suitable playing on the right flank which often limits his game, and tonight was no different. He had the team’s first shot on target but was also guilty of making a few wayward touches and passes, most notably the slip while playing out from the back, which eventually led to the penalty call.
Beto (CF) - 2
Awful game from the Everton striker who was invisible for the entire 90 minutes at Elland Road. Despite a plethora of long passes sprayed out towards him, Beto failed to either win the ball or hold it or link up with the rest of his teammates, or get into dangerous positions.
The fact that Beto finished the game with just one touch inside the opposition box tells you all you need to know. The only one to put in a more tragic shift than Everton's number 9 tonight was Chris Kavanagh while officiating the game.
Iliman Ndiaye (LW) - 6
Ndiaye showed little moments of magic to relieve the pressure off his side, but did not get the ball in the danger areas to create chances at the opposition goal.
Subs
Jack Grealish (on for Iroegbunam at 70’) - 6
Immediately slotted into the left flank, forcing Ndiaye on the opposite right flank. In his Everton debut, the marquee summer signing held the ball well, had a couple of great take-ons and showed positive signs.
Thierno Barry (on for Alcaraz at 86’): N/A
Barely had any time to influence the game.
Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer ()
There are no responses so far to this article. Be the first to offer a comment using the form below.
How to get rid of these ads and support TW
© ToffeeWeb