Everton’s woes under Marco Silva this season continues after the Toffees slumped to a 2-1 defeat at the hands of high flying Leicester City this evening.
Everton did enjoy a positive start to the game, thanks to some early pressure from Richarlison and Dominic-Calvert Lewin. And although they looked quite nervy at the back, it was Richarlison who put the visitors in front with a bullet header in the 22nd minute. However, Leicester responded pretty well after the goal. They notably had three calls for a penalty rejected in the first-half, during one of which, VAR was involved.
In the second half, Everton mostly played out on the counter. But unfortunately, it backfired as Leicester eventually restored parity through Jamie Vardy’s goal in the 68th minute. The Foxes then continued to up the ante and take advantage of a nervous-looking Everton backline. And eventually, the hosts did find the winner right at the depth, thanks to Kelechi Iheanacho’s brilliant finish. The goal was initially ruled out due to an offside call, but it was overturned by VAR, giving Leicester all three points.
Here is how Silva’s men performed in their heartbreaking defeat to Brendan Rodgers’ side this evening.
Jordan Pickford 6.5
It was a busy evening for the England international, who was forced to make a few good saves. But in the end, he couldn’t have done anything to stop Vardy’s tremendous finish. However, he might have done a little better with his positioning for the Iheanacho goal.
Mason Holgate 5
Made an array of questionable touches and purely lacked the quality to help Everton sustain a stable back-three. He was lucky in the first-half not to make much contact with Ben Chilwell, and it was, overall, a disappointing performance from the defender.
Yerry Mina 6.5
Done extremely well to minimise the influence of Vardy, who was anonymous for the large part of the game. However, the Colombian was undone by a moment of brilliance by the England international. Apart from that, Mina was pretty good at the back and deserves credit for trying to lead a dejected Everton backline.
Michael Keane 5.5
It was not the best of performances from the ex-Hull City star, who looked slow to deal with the threat of the Leicester City attackers, especially in the first half. Failed to provide composure at the back as Everton eventually conceded two goals.
Djibril Sidibe 7.5
A commendable display from Sidibe, whose tenacity and commitment caused a lot of problems for the Leicester City backline. The Frenchman moved forward down the right flank numerous times, thus minimising the influence of Chilwell to an extent. Moreover, it was his perfect cross that led to Richarlison’s opener.
Tom Davies 5
A careless display from the homegrown Everton talent, who got caught out in possession way too many times. It was him, whose casual forward pass was intercepted, ultimately leading to the counter-attack that saw Iheanacho score a memorable last-minute winner.
Gylfi Sigurdsson 5
Covered a lot of ground but was clearly undone by the unity of the Leicester City midfielders. The Icelandic international was hardly involved in the final third. It would have perhaps been a better idea for Silva to start with Morgan Schneiderlin instead.
Lucas Digne 6
Despite his talents going forward, Digne looked incredibly sloppy and incompetent dealing with the relentless Ricardo Pereira on the left-flank. Although he did cover a lot of ground, it was the extra workload of operating as a wing-back that ultimately got the better of him.
Alex Iwobi 6
Iwobi did very well at times with his offensive runs. His pace on the break offered Everton some credibility going forward. But, it was, overall, an ineffective display from the ex-Arsenal star.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin 6.5
Once again showed excellent work-ethic and positional intelligence, most notably creating the space that allowed Richarlison to make a free run into the box and score the opener. But in hindsight, the forward should have been much more proactive in front of goal.
Richarlison 7.5
Was pretty much a lone wolf in the Everton attack. The Brazilian looked menacing, and his incredible stamina even in the final quarter of the match was commendable. His thumping header in the first-half was also quite enjoyable, but he was, in the end, unlucky to not have received enough offensive support from his teammates.
SUBSTITUTES
Morgan Schneiderlin N/A
Replaced Calvert-Lewin in the 78th minute to provide more solidity in central midfield.
Moise Kean N/A
A late replacement for Iwobi. But, the Italian never really managed to make an impact.
