Garth Crooks thrilled by Everton attacker Demarai Gray after magic v Manchester City
Garth Crooks has been left thrilled by the performance of Everton winger Demarai Gray as he picked him in the BBC Sports Team of the Week column.
Gray scored a spectacular goal against Manchester City as the Toffees managed a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday (31 December) in the Premier League.
Crooks hailed it as a “tough of magic” from the 26-year-old winger, adding that he has the quality to hurt any opposition.
“Everton and Frank Lampard in particular needed the point at Etihad Stadium far more than Manchester City and Pep Guardiola. Lampard’s team was struggling before the World Cup break and nothing has really changed on their return to domestic football,” wrote Crooks for BBC Sport.
“What has saved Lampard has been Everton’s ability to never throw in the towel and to fight on regardless. This was their biggest attribute against Manchester City, along with a touch of magic from Demarai Gray.
“This is a player who has the tools to hurt any opposition but his best performances are far too infrequent. It is Lampard’s job to fix this and to get Gray to be more consistent and do what he did on Saturday on a more regular basis.”
Spot on
Crooks has just echoed the sentiments of the Toffees fans here.
Gray has managed only two goals this season, and his overall performance has been decent at best.
However, he has the ability to conjure moments of brilliance. He can score; he can dribble; he has the ability to pick the right passes; he has got pace, guile, and tactical awareness as well.
And yet, consistency is the only demon that has stopped him from reaching his fullest potential.
This is something Frank Lampard needs to work on. Gray should be given more freedom to take shots on goal which could help him improve his numbers.
It was a massive result for the Toffees. They avoided their fifth successive defeat while getting a result away from the Etihad will give them tremendous confidence going forward.
It was also good to see Ben Godfrey playing the entire 90 minutes again after a long injury lay-off. He was superb on the night and kept Erling Haaland relatively quiet, although the striker did manage to score.