Neal Maupay toothless, Idrissa Gueye back to his best – Everton player ratings v Wolves
Everton somehow lost 2-1 to a last minute Wolves winner at Goodison Park as the pressure ramped up on an embattled Frank Lampard.
The Toffees took the lead in just the seventh minute when Dwight McNeil’s corner found Yerry Mina, playing in place of Conor Coady, who used his strength to get away from his marker and flick a header inside the far post.
A collective failure from the defence saw Joao Moutinho find Daniel Podence to equalise midway through the half, and Everton wasted repeated opportunities to re-take the lead, with Neal Maupay and Anthony Gordon passing up crucial opportunities, before Rayan Ait-Nouri slammed home at the far post in injury time to complete a nightmare afternoon.
Here, Goodison News rates the Toffees players out of 10 for their performances in the long-awaited return to Premier League action.
Jordan Pickford – 6
May have been slightly disappointed with Podence’s equaliser as the low shot was slipped underneath him without a great deal of power, but he was left exposed. Had little to do otherwise, until the heartbreaking winner.
Nathan Patterson – 5
Not his greatest first half, where he was booked for lashing out at Podence, possibly risking worse, and was completely oblivious to Podence behind him for the equaliser. Did nip in with a crucial covering evasive action in first-half stoppage time. Slightly better in the second half and nearly found Cannon with a nice late cross but not a great game overall.
Yerry Mina (off for Godfrey ’76) – 7
Mina in an absolute nutshell, good when available but so often not. Made the most of his opportunity to play with Coady unable to face his parent club by using his strength to get free before flicking a simple header into the far corner early on. Unsurprisingly clashed with Diego Costa minutes later, and looked comfortable at the back until the inevitable removal during the second half. It may have just been cramp as he looked like he wanted to continue but Lampard unsurprisingly wasn’t taking any chances.
James Tarkowski – 7
Looked typically strong at the back and flew in with a couple of important sliding blocks before the Wolves equaliser. Relatively comfortable from then on with the home side largely on top.
Vitalii Mykolenko – 7
Energetic and threatening down the left. Found Gordon with a beautiful cross midway through the first half that the winger didn’t take advantage of. Less involved as the game went on.
Idrissa Gana Gueye (off for Doucoure ’83) – 8
Looked more like the Gueye of old to steal possession repeatedly and looked composed on the ball. Took advantage of a sloppy Nathan Collins pass and then drove forward to put Gordon in for what should have been a goal in the first half. Caught by a high Max Kilman boot after the break for what his teammates felt should have been a red card. Unlucky to be sacrificed late on as the manager searched for a winner.
Amadou Onana – 7
Looked slightly off the pace in the opening minutes but grew into the game to become increasingly involved in a scrappy midfield battle.
Alex Iwobi – 5
Uncharacteristically quiet for the Toffees before the break. More involved after the break but still short of his best.
Dwight McNeil (off for Gray ’56) – 6
Swung a nice corner straight onto the head of Mina for the opener that fans would have hoped might have given him a confidence boost, but he was peripheral from then on.
Anthony Gordon – 6
Very frustrating day. Looked threatening in the build up and got himself into very dangerous positions but couldn’t provide the crucial finishing touches as Everton looked to get back into the lead before the break. Mis-controlled a wonderful first-half chance created by Mykolenko and then failed to beat Jose Sa when slipped in one-on-one by Gueye not long later. Everton needed him to step up but he couldn’t quite do it.
Neal Maupay (off for Cannon ’83) – 4
Could have been the difference but disappointing in too many key moments. Slow to get out to Joao Moutinho who was given time to assist the Wolves equaliser, then was clean through on goal not long after but a lack of speed and control allowed a combination of Sa and Nelson Semedo to thwart him. Presented another dangerous opportunity from a mistake before the break he fired straight at Sa from the edge of the box. He was willing but did not prove he can lead the line in Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s absence.
SUBSTITUTES
Demarai Gray (on for McNeil ’56) – 6
More threatening than McNeil and curled a nice free kick narrowly wide,
Ben Godfrey (on for Mina ’76) –
Long-awaited return from his opening day injury almost saw him find the net, but his late effort was cleared off the line by Ruben Neves. Barely involved defensively.
Tom Cannon (on for Maupay ’83) – N/A
Would have been a fairy-tale for the youngster to find a winner but it wasn’t to be.
Abdoulaye Doucoure (on for Gueye ’83) – N/A