Everton failed to react to their Watford unravelling as another uninspiring display led to Wolves winning the three points.
Bruno Lage’s side got two goals in the first half from Max Kilman and Raul Jimenez.
It was another set-piece goal that was conceded for the first and then a short back-pass from Ben Godfrey allowed Raul Jimenez to chip it over a stranded Jordan Pickford.
In the second half Everton fought back and got one goal back thanks to Alex Iwobi’s instinctive strike in the box but it was not enough to scrape a point back as Rafa Benitez’s side could not build momentum.
The victory for Wolves puts them seventh ahead of Everton into the table who themselves drop down to tenth.
Improvement is needed for The Toffees with some pretty daunting fixtures in the next five games which consist of Tottenham, Manchester City and Liverpool.
Jordan Pickford: 8
Kept Everton in the game in the early stages with two brilliant saves to deny Ruben Neves and Trincao. It was a great reaction save to stop Neves and then an acrobatic stop to keep out Trincao. Couldn’t really do anything for the first goal from the corner Even though in the Monday Night Football studio Jamie Carragher suggested he should save it. Was left out to dry by Godfrey’s back pass for Jimenez’s goal.
Seamus Coleman: 5
Was solid defensively as ever but did not have any attacking impact due to the setup from Benitez in the first half. Put one cross in which could have been given as a penalty. Needed to be given more license to roam forward.
Mason Holgate: 3
Could tell it was his first league start in six games. Looked unorganised and was beaten too easily throughout the game by Wolves’ attacking players. Gave away too poor fouls on the edge of the box and was a surprise to see him not booked.
Michael Keane: 6
Arguably at fault for the set-piece goal as he got under the ball from the corner. Overall was not as bad as last weekend as he won four out of his six aerial duels and won seven out of eight ground duels. Also unintentionally got the assist for Iwobi’s goal.
Ben Godfrey: 3
Also arguably at fault for the set-piece goal as he was weak in the duel against Kilman after the ball had flew over Keane’s head. Once again out of position and it is obvious. No attacking threat but got forward a lot so made the attack disjointed. The back pass was awful as well which cost Everton big time in the end.
Andros Townsend: 6
Impossible to have any attacking influence when Everton sat back throughout the whole first half. In the second half he was one of the better players though as he helped his side get on the front foot. Main creative force with four successful crosses.
Allan: 4
Was poor in the first half as he let his man get in the half space between the midfield and defence almost every time. Struggled to help his backline which led to Michael Keane giving him a talking too. Tireless in the middle as he always is and is not helped due to the system.
Jean-Phillipe Gbamin: 3
First start for the first league start in 2 years so therefore it was no surprise that he was taken off at half-time. Not good enough in possession as he lost the ball five times and only had 22 touches in the 45 minutes he was on the pitch. Will most likely be still building up match fitness.
Alex Iwobi: 4
Done well to score the goal as it was a powerful instinctive strike but before that it was another poor display from the winger. Started on the left moved to the middle then moved to the right and was not able to have any impact in any of those positions.
Demarai Gray: 3
Was probably his most mediocre game for Everton so far. Missed a massive chance at 2-0 in the first half as he dragged his shot wide. Could not create any chances as the Wolves backline chaperoned him well all game.
Richarlison: 5
Couldn’t do anything with the lack of service which has been a problem in recent weeks for Salomon Rondon. The fluidity of the attack and the link-up play was better thanks to the Brazilian but he just did not have a single clear cut chance. Couldn’t take advantage of Jose Sa’s misplaced pass either which went straight to him.
Substitutes:
Fabian Delph (Jean-Phillipe Gbamin 45): 5
Made a good impact in the middle of the park as he brought some more intensity. Poor in possession at times which is worryingly a reoccurring theme for Everton midfielders.
Anthony Gordon (Alex Iwobi 78): 4
So close to getting the equaliser with a flicked-on header from a corner other than that did not have any impact.
Salomon Rondon (Demarai Gray 89): n/aPlayed one minute, had one touch and lost possession once.
