Everton entertained Swansea City at the Goodison Park, looking to keep their unbeaten run going under new manager Sam Allardyce. The Toffees opted for a familiar 4-2-3-1 formation and it paid dividends as the Blues ran out 3-1 winners on the night. The match began with both teams taking up a cautious approach but the Swans surprised everyone and took an early lead through Leroy Fer. However, Everton won a penalty just before half-time and had a chance to level the game. Rooney stepped up but couldn’t take his chance but the rebound fell to Dominic Calvert-Klein who tucked the ball home from close range.
It was all Everton in the second half as the Toffees put on a dominant display to bag the three points with a 3-1 scoreline through goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson and Wayne Rooney (from the penalty spot). The victory helps the Merseyside club climb to 9th in the Premier League table while Swansea City remains rock bottom with 3 victories in 18 games and face a possible relegation battle going into Christmas.
Let’s shed some light on how each Everton player fared on the night.
GK: Jordan Pickford – 6/10
He was not at fault for the Swansea goal but it was rather poor marking by his fellow defenders that let Leroy Fer free inside the box. Other than that incident, he had little to do in the match.
RB: Jonjoe Kenny – 8/10
He celebrated his new contract with Everton by putting in a man of the match display against the Swans. The youngster defended well and earned the second penalty of the game which Wayne Rooney converted from the spot.
CB: Mason Holgate – 7/10
He defended well and commanded the Everton backline from the get-go. The young defender hardly put a foot wrong in the match.
CB: Ashley Williams – 6/10
The defender is improving with each game and looked strong at the heart of the Everton defence.
LB: Cuco Martina – 6/10
He had some trouble dealing with Narsingh’s pace but had a good game nonetheless. He’s slowly turning into a solid left-back for Everton.
CM: Idrissa Gueye – 8/10
He put in a great shift in the midfield for the Toffees and did well to break up some of the Swansea attacks.
CM: Morgan Schneiderlin – 6/10
He was caught ball-watching at times but did do his job of shielding the Everton defence.
RM: Aaron Lennon – 7/10
The speedy winger earned the penalty which helped Everton score the equaliser. He worked hard for the team and did well to launch the comeback.
CAM: Wayne Rooney – 7/10
The English striker had a mixed night. He missed a penalty in the first half but scored one in the second half. He also got the assist for the Sigurdsson goal.
LM: Gylfi Sigurdsson – 7/10
The Toffees’ club record signing sealed the points with a beautiful strike against his old club. The Icelandic international definitely put in one of his better performances in the Everton shirt.
ST: Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 7/10
The youngster worked tirelessly up top and used his pace to make some good runs in behind the Swans defence. He scored the all-important equaliser when Rooney’s penalty was saved in the first half.
Substitutes:
CM: Tom Davies – 6/10
The young midfielder was a calming influence in the Toffees’ midfield and performed well in place of Schneiderlin.
RM: Ademola Lookman – 6/10
He looked lively after coming on and tried to get some shots in from distance.
ST: Sandro Ramirez – N/A
The young striker didn’t have much time to make an impact in the match.
