Everton have gone without a win in their first five games of a Premier League season for the first time since the 2010/11 season after drawing 1-1 with Leeds United.
The Toffees took a first half lead through Anthony Gordon with the goal meaning he had scored in back-to-back games in the first time of his career amidst the Chelsea rumours.
It was a neat finish through the legs of Illan Meslier after Alex Iwobi played a ball which Marcos Llorente failed to clear.
In the second half Leeds United came onto Everton, who invited pressure by sitting back, and Luis Sinisterra managed to get the equaliser ten minutes after the interval.
He wrongfooted Jordan Pickford with his shot on the edge of the box with the ball trickling into the bottom right corner.
Everton responded well though and thought they had restored their lead on the 65th minutes as Demarai Gray slotted the ball through Meslier’s legs again.
The flag went up and the lines came out with it looking ridiculously close but the VAR deemed Gray’s shoulder to be offside.
In the last 15 minutes both sides had massive chances to win the game with scouser Joe Gelhardt going through on goal but Pickford made a fantastic save with his feet.
Nathan Patterson was played through with five minutes to go but Meslier stood firm and blocked his effort.
So it ended one apiece meaning it is another point for Lampard’s Blues on the road.
Player ratings:
Jordan Pickford: 8
He was flatfooted for the goal but he was unsighted and couldn’t do too much about it. Made some very important saves to make sure Everton held on for the point. Did have a shaky punch in the first half which put Everton under unnecessary pressure.
Nathan Patterson: 7
Could have won it at the end but the angle was tight. Done very well defensively and seems to be growing in confidence after every game.
Conor Coady: 4
Got beat in-behind which led to Pickford having to stop Rodrigo from going through on goal and made a poor mistake which led to Gerhardt going through on goal. Pickford had to save his blushes again. His lack of pace evident in a back four.
James Tarkowski: 7
Was solid as usual at the back winning all of his duels. A very shrewd purchase by Everton.
Vitaliy Mykolenko: 5
Struggled to be an attacking threat and couldn’t really deal with Sinisterra as well as he would have hoped.
Amadou Onana: 5
Had an effort blocked from a corner which could have been the winner. Lost possession a host of times and was not accurate with his passing. Still getting used to the Premier League but he was solid in the middle from a defensive point of view.
Tom Davies: 6
Got the stupidest yellow card you will ever see in the first half by kicking the ball when Meslier had it in his hands. Apart from that an impressive performance building on his last few games.
Alex Iwobi: 6
Got the assist with an opportunistic ball through the Leeds defence but couldn’t have too much more influence on the game.
Dwight McNeil: 4
Was safe with the ball when he got it and struggled to create any chances. Had one shot on the edge which went harmlessly wide in the second half.
Anthony Gordon: 8.5
Scored the goal with a neat finish under Meslier and was trying until the end to win the game for Everton. Unlucky not to have a couple of assists and is showing why there is such a big price on his head.
— Premier League (@premierleague) August 30, 2022
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Demarai Gray: 4
Could have had the winner if the VAR assistant decided to give the attacker the benefit of the doubt which is what they are meant to do. Other than that had little to no impact on the game.
