Everton player ratings v Nottingham Forest: Alex Iwobi stars in drab game
Everton left it late to secure their first point of the season as they nicked a 1-1 draw at home to Nottingham Forest at Goodison Park.
It was a game of very few chances at Goodison Park but it was the away side who finally broke the deadlock with a stunning strike from Ryan Yates only parried to Brennan Johnson to tuck home the opening goal.
But the Toffees would not take it lying down and Demarai Gray went up the other end to slide the ball beyond Dean Henderson and level the game at 1-1.
Jordan Pickford – 6
It’s difficult to give Pickford anything but a six because he didn’t have anything extraordinary to do and everything that did come his way, he dealt with calmly. Forest rarely troubled the Toffees’ goal in what was a very drab game and Pickford’s afternoon was quiet as a result.
Nathan Patterson – 7
What a signing this is proving out to be from Rafael Benitez. Patterson has been fantastic going forward in a right wing-back position and his bravery caused problems for Forest all afternoon as he looked like the biggest threat to the Forest defence.
James Tarkowski – 6
This signing won’t grab the headlines around Goodison Park this summer but there might not be a better move than this. Tarkowski had one of his quieter games for Everton against Forest but he was still a solid wall that the visitors had to work very hard to get past.
Conor Coady – 5
The England international may be a leader around the squad but he has to start upping his performances to keep his spot in Frank Lampard’s side. Coady has never been the quickest of players but the movement of Taiwo Awoniyi and Brennan Johnson caused him a lot of problems with Jesse Lingard’s ghosting abilities added in.
Mason Holgate – 6
It is always good to not mention a defender very often because it usually means that he is doing nothing wrong or spectacular. That is the game Holgate had at Goodison Park as he did everything very simple and remained assured throughout the game.
Vitaliy Mykolenko – 6
The Ukrainian was not quite as threatening as Patterson on the opposite flank but he still had his moments at Goodison Park. Mykolenko’s defensive stability is perhaps more pronounced than the Scot’s but both players compliment each other well.
Tom Davies – 7
Davies might not be the most fashionable player in the Everton squad but his determination and grit in the midfield is exactly what the doctor ordered for Lampard. With Alex Iwobi the designated creator in the middle, the Finch Farm graduate was needed to be as solid as a rock and for the most part, he was exactly that.
Alex Iwobi – 8
For someone who is not a natural central midfielder, Iwobi has been nothing short of epic at the start of this new season. He made a big enough impact in the survival run to keep his place and his drive and intricacies in attacking areas are now keeping the £33million Amadou Onana out of the starting lineup.
Demarai Gray – 6
In a game where very little happened at either end of the pitch, it is perhaps no surprise that the attackers have not ranked as highly as you might think. Gray was largely ineffective to the visitors’ defence for much of the game but he suddenly appeared from nowhere and scored the vital equaliser.
Anthony Gordon – 5
Is the Chelsea transfer talk starting to affect our young starlet? Gordon looked a shadow of his usual self on Merseyside as he barely got a sniff at goal against a stubborn Forest backline and he couldn’t even create anything for his teammates either.
Salomon Rondon – 4
For all the talk about needing a focal point in attack, Rondon did not produce the kind of display that was necessary for the Toffees. The tall Venezuelan needed to hold the ball up so much better than he did overall and despite a few reasonable moments, he was largely disappointing and prevented more Everton attacks from flying forward.
Substitutes:
Dwight McNeil (on for Rondon 57′) – 5
Amadou Onana (on for Davies 57′) – 6