Frank Lampard’s Everton lost their opening game of the season 1-0 to Chelsea after a Jorginho penalty.
Nathan Patterson, James Tarkowski, Dwight McNeil and Ruben Vinagre made their Premier League debuts for Everton but couldn’t help them get their first goal of the campaign.
The Toffees competed well in both halves however a stupid challenge from Abdoulaye Doucoure on Ben Chillwell forced Craig Pawson to make a decision.
He pointed to the spot and Jorginho faced Jordan Pickford just like in the Euro 2020 final last year.
The Italian won the battle this time and his goal was enough for the three points with the major problem in the game the serious injury being to Ben Godfrey.
Next week Everton will have a recognised striker against Aston Villa with Salomon Rondon back from his suspension.
Jordan Pickford: 5
Made a good save to deny Mason Mount in the first half but looked shaky from corners and crosses. Spilled a shot to Raheem Sterling who scored but luckily, he was offside. Also tried to become an outfielder in the latter stages of additional time which nearly ended in disaster.
Nathan Patterson: 5.5
Set Alli up for a great chance in the second half. Marauding up and down the pitch at wing-back throughout the game. Done decent to say it was his Premier League debut.
Ben Godfrey: n/a
His poor back pass gave Pickford an issue which led to him needing to put in a recovery challenge injuring himself in the process. He had to go off on a stretcher, hopefully just as a precaution.
James Tarkowski: 6
A headed effort forced Edouard Mendy into a dramatic save in the first half. Carried on his pre-season form looks like he has been at Everton for years
Yerry Mina: 5
A couple of vital blocks helped keep Chelsea out and he also looked comfortable in a back three. Had to be taken off though due to yet another injury.
Vitaliy Mykolenko: 5
Made a vital block to deny Raheem Sterling a goal on his debut for Chelsea. Struggled to have any impact in the attack.
Abdoulaye Doucoure: 5
Everton’s standout player in the first half battling tremendously well in the middle of the park but then he undone all his good work by stupidly giving away a penalty which won Chelsea the game. Had a chance to equalise but was denied by Mendy in the second phase of a corner.
Alex Iwobi: 4
Couldn’t make an impact in an attacking sense and lost most of his duels in the double pivot. Looks more comfortable in a midfield three. N’Golo Kante had a brilliant game keeping him quiet in the process.
Dwight McNeil: 4
Found it hard to get into the game causing Chelsea next to no issues at the back before being taken off on the hour
Demarai Gray: 5
Arguably had Everton’s two best chances. Wasted a counter-attack in the first half by playing a poor pass when Gordon could have been through on goal. In the second 45 he stud up Thiago Silva and had a strike blocked in a desperate tackle by the Brazilian. Was a bright spark when Everton were in transition.
Anthony Gordon: 3
Surprisingly started through the middle and had no service having to deal with long balls from Pickford.
Substitutions:
Mason Holgate (Ben Godfrey): 4
A shot he had was blocked on the line after Doucoure’s effort was blocked. Was solid enough in the back three but was dragged out of position in the build-up to the penalty.
Dele Alli (Dwight McNeil): 3
Should have let fire when Patterson played him in but held onto the ball for too long. Didn’t have the desired effect on the game that Lampard would have wanted.
Ruben Vinagre: (Yerry Mina): 3
Came on for the last 20 minutes to make it a back four meaning he had to do more defending than attacking.
