Joe Ellis

Sun 13 March 2022 15:55, UK

Relegation fears have been increased for Everton as they suffered a third-straight Premier League defeat against Wolves at Goodison Park.

Wolves skipper Conor Coady leapt highest to divert Ruben Neves’ cross into the far corner early into the second half to put Bruno Lage’s side ahead.

The Toffees toiled throughout the second half to find a leveller but Jonjoe Kenny’s red card with ten minutes to play halted any momentum they had gathered on another poor afternoon.

Jordan Pickford – 6

The visitors stung Pickford’s palms on more than one occasion and he was up to the task. Nothing he could do to stop Coady’s fabulous glanced header into the far corner and his distribution was on point for much of the afternoon too. Can’t ask for much more from your goalkeeper.

Seamus Coleman – 6

Operating as a right wing-back, Coleman was given license to bomb forward and boy have we missed seeing that! The captain got to the byline regularly in the first half but he couldn’t direct any of his crosses into a good enough area to score which ultimately let him down.

Mason Holgate – 6

There’s not much to say about Holgate. He wasn’t at fault for the goal as the ball sailed way over his head and Godfrey should have done better (We’ll get onto that). Otherwise, the Englishman was relatively composed at the back and rarely troubled by Raul Jimenez.

Ben Godfrey – 5

You can tell Godfrey has been out injured for a little while because he was very lacklustre today. He might have coped alright with the few half-chances Wolves created in the first half but he was asleep for Conor Coady’s opener, allowing the visitors’ skipper to head home.

Jonjoe Kenny – 4

Spent the first hour as a right centre-half only to be pushed out to left-back when Dele Alli came on. What is Lampard thinking? He looked alright in the middle but out of his depth on the left and it was a brainless move to lunge in when on a yellow card.

Vitaliy Mykolenko – 7 (Man of the Match)

Why was this only Mykolenko’s second start in the Premier League? The Ukrainian was superb at left wing-back today, keeping Daniel Podence very quiet and he looked keen to make an impact further up the field too. It was strange to see him subbed off for Dele Alli on the hour.

Abdoulaye Doucoure – 4

If there was an award for the best pointer, Doucoure would be the hands-down winner today. The Frenchman did very little all day long and spent much of the time Everton had possession pointing at other players rather than trying to get the ball himself.

Donny van de Beek – 5

It’s not looking like the genius signing everyone was hoping for when van de Beek arrived on Merseyside on deadline day. The Dutchman did slightly more than his midfield counterpart Doucoure in getting on the ball but he was still well below his best.

Anthony Gordon – 6

In typical Anthony Gordon fashion, there was endless running and energy from the 20-year-old and his determination helped keep the Goodison Park faithful on-side. A couple of dangerous crosses in the best he did on the ball but more than most managed in blue.

Demarai Gray – 5

Another player who has been out injured for the last handful of games and you can see why. It was a very quiet afternoon for the Englishman who could not create a thing all game long. He has to be dropped now, surely?

Richarlison – 6

Probably the liveliest of the front three, Richarlison should have put the Toffees ahead in the first half but slammed his shot straight at Jose Sa. He still persisted to harass the Wolves defence but it was to no avail.

Substitutes:

Dele Alli (on for Mykolenko, 59′) – 4

Andros Townsend (on for Gray, 74′) – 5

In other Everton news, Robbie Savage has dropped his relegation prediction along with his verdict on Lampard.

Be sure to follow Goodison News on Facebook for 24/7 updates on Everton plus more exclusive interviews with Kevin Campbell.