Everton faced off against Liverpool at Goodison Park earlier this evening hoping to kickstart their Premier League campaign with a positive result at home. The Reds dominated more of the possession in the first half while the Toffees looked to threaten on the counter. Both teams went into the half-time break with nothing to split them.
The second half was more of the same with Jurgen Klopp’s men controlling the ball but struggling to break down the Everton defence. Tom Davies came close to breaking the deadlock, but his effort saw the ball hit the post before being cleared out of danger. Both sides fought tooth and nail but couldn’t find the back of the net as the Merseyside derby finished 0-0 after the full-time whistle.
Let’s take a look at how each Everton player fared during the derby against the Reds.
GK: Jordan Pickford – 7/10
The English keeper did what was asked of him in goal for the Toffees. He was a commanding presence in the air and pulled off a couple of decent stops to earn a well-deserved clean sheet.
RB: Seamus Coleman – 7.5/10
He worked his socks off in tracking Sadio Mane’s runs and defended very well to neutralise the Senegalese’s threat. However, he hardly got involved in the attacking third.
CB: Michael Keane – 7/10
The English centre-back was always there to step in when Coleman was in trouble out on the wide areas. He also kept a good defensive shape with Holgate at the back and performed well enough to secure a shutout against the 2019 UEFA Champions League winners.
CB: Mason Holgate – 6.5/10
The Toffees talent took a no-nonsense approach when defending inside his half and made some crucial clearances under the pressure of the Liverpool high-press.
LB: Lucas Digne – 6/10
The French left-back performed his duties well defensively but lacked the cutting edge going forward.
RM: Anthony Gordon – 6/10
The Everton youngster put in a hard-working display and tracked back with the opposition runners when needed. He was subbed at the hour mark.
CM: Tom Davies – 7/10
Davies put in a tireless shift at the heart of the Toffees midfield. He made life difficult for the Liverpool midfielders and came closest to breaking the deadlock with his deflected attempt that hit the post.
CM: Andre Gomes – 6/10
He kept the ball moving in midfield but failed to create any clear-cut openings in the opposition half. Gomes will be hoping for more productive days in an Everton shirt.
LM: Alex Iwobi – 6.5/10
The Nigerian speedster faded in and out of the game but did well to test Alisson Becker with his cheeky attempt in the second half.
ST: Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 5.5/10
The English striker tried his best to trouble Virgil Van Dijk but came up second-best on most occasions during the 90 minutes.
ST: Richarlison – 7.5/10
The Brazilian attacker was Everton’s best hope for a goal up top. He was always looking harass the opposition through his tireless running and determination to get forward. However, Richarlison was also guilty of wasting a decent chance to score inside the first 45 minutes.
Substitutes:
RM: Gylfi Sigurdsson – 5/10
The Icelandic international came on but didn’t add much to the game.
LM: Bernard – N/A
The Brazilian winger was introduced too little too late to make an impact.
ST: Moise Kean – N/A
He came off the bench to run the clock down.
