View: One 5/10 despite impressive win – Player ratings from Everton v Chelsea
Everton returned to winning ways with a 1-0 victory over Chelsea on Saturday evening in what was a much-improved performance from the Toffees.
Gylfi Sigurdsson’s first-half penalty gave Everton a half time lead as they kept Chelsea at bay in the opening 45 minutes.
The Toffees could’ve scored more in the second half if not for some VAR offside calls but they defended excellently against the talented Chelsea attack.
It was a brilliant performance from Everton and it was a much-needed result after the losses of recent weeks.
Despite this, some players still disappointed but on the whole Carlo Ancelotti will be very happy with his side’s efforts.
Here are our player ratings from Everton v Chelsea.
Jordan Pickford – 8
Pickford made an excellent save to deny Reece James in the first half but still made some questionable decisions like coming off his line to punch balls that his defenders could deal with. Overall he looked back to his best and that’s great to see.
Ben Godfrey – 7
He looked solid at left-back and he could remain there in future as Niels Nkounkou continues to be left out. He was beaten on a couple of occasions but his teammates were there to bail him out.
Yerry Mina – 7
Much better from Mina today after some poor performances. He dealt with Timo Werner very well and marked Olivier Giroud out of the game. Huge improvement.
Michael Keane – 9
Keane was impressive again on Saturday evening and won everything in the air. He was a real leader in the backline and he is going from strength to strength this season. If he carries this form on for much longer he could become more important to the Toffees than Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Mason Holgate – 7
Holgate did well as a makeshift right-back and he was effective at running up and down the line. Arguably offered more going forward but he was still there to defend against the Chelsea attack.
Abdoulaye Doucoure – 8
Doucoure was an enforcer tonight and won numerous tackles against the Chelsea midfield while also being at the heart of several attacking moves. A brilliant all-round performance from the summer signing who is improving every week.
Allan – 8
Allan looked back to his best and was rarely caught in possession. He was strong in his tackling and covered his defence excellently. Again, much better.
Gylfi Sigurdsson – 9
On a surprising return to the starting line up Sigurdsson delivered and he took his penalty very well. Sigurdsson captained the side and it was his best performance for some time. More of the same in future please.
Richarlison – 6
Richarlison was bright but lacked the killer edge that he is known for. He disappeared in the second half for large periods but still caused the Chelsea defence some issues.
Alex Iwobi – 5
Iwobi had a quiet first half back in his preferred role. He needed to be quicker in his passing and on a few occasions he hung onto the ball for too long as players in front of him strayed offside. Unconvincing even though he was back in the attack.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 8
Once again Calvert-Lewin was excellent chasing long balls and did very well to win the penalty. Unlucky not to grab himself a goal but he showed off some other aspects of his game against Chelsea.
Subs
Andre Gomes – N/A
Tom Davies – N/A
Jonjoe Kenny – N/A
In other Everton news, Marcel Brands has opened up of the Toffees’ summer transfer dealings