Saikat Mandal

Tue 3 January 2023 21:50, UK

Everton have suffered an embarrassing 4-1 defeat against Brighton at Goodison Park on Tuesday night (3 January) in the Premier League.

After trailing 1-0 at the break, Brighton came out strongly and completely destroyed the Toffees with three goals coming in a short space of time.

Idrissa Gueye has been shocking for the Toffees, while Alex Iwobi has been the only player who has come out with his head held high. The Toffees have been absolutely awful in every department.

Here, Goodison News rates the players out of 10 for their performances:

Jordan Pickford – 6

Could he have done better to save the goal? It would be too harsh to blame him for the first goal as the defence was all over the place leaving him completely exposed. The England stopper made a brilliant save to deny Solly March from close range in the second half, but it was a night he would love to forget. He was furious with his teammates.

Conor Coady – 5

For some strange reason, Coady’s performance after the World-Cup hasn’t been at the same level as it was before. He struggled to mark Evan Ferguson properly who nearly scored in the first half, only to see his effort hitting the post. In the second half, the defence was all over the place, and they allowed the visitors to come at them and get the goals.

James Tarkowski – 6

He was brilliant though. He made five clearances in the first half alone and was very alert to almost every danger. He had a good opportunity to score from his header in the first half, but couldn’t hit the target. In the second half, it was shambles at the back, and they couldn’t cope with the Brighton threat at all.

Nathan Patterson – 3

The young defender really struggled against Kaoru Mitoma, and has a torrid time in the first half. He did put in some decent crosses, but was largely culpable for the opening goal, as he completely made an error in judgment in picking the cross from Caicedo. He picked up an injury (yet again) and was replaced shortly after the break.

Vitaliy Mykolenko – 5

Apparently looked solid at the back and made two key passes, as per Who scored. More solid and compact, compared to Patterson, but most of Brighton’s attack came from the right side hand. Made some basic errors at the back, and collectively they all need to take the blame for such a shambolic performance.

Idrissa Gueye – 2

In the absence of Amadou Onana, the Toffees midfield struggled horribly, and Gueye was all over the place. He was slow to react, made clumsy tackles and couldn’t protect the back four as required. Both Tom Davies and Alex Iowbi love to move forward and it needed a strong effort from Gueye. In the second half, he gave away a dreadful pass from which Pascal Gross scored.

Tom Davies – 6

As expected, Davies brings a different quality to the side, but he needs a proper defensive midfielder to make him better. He had a shot on target, and always looked to play out forward passes. He spread the ball well and made one or two tackles as well.

Alex Iwobi – 7

Everton’s most consistent player was the only shining light for the club. He had a shot on target inside the opening five minutes, played out a brilliant pass to Calvert-Lewin just outside the edge of the box, and looked lively throughout. He earned a penalty for the side, and was our best player, someone who really put in an effort.

Dwight McNeil – 5

Really disappointing. The former Burnley player hugs the right-side touchline, but neither he has the ability to cut inside and have a shot on goal nor has the pace to drop deep and help Patterson out. He was quickly taken off after the break.

Demarai Gray – 6

Gray did try to make things happen with his trickery and pace. Towards the end of the first half, he got himself in a very good position to score, similar to where he netted against Manchester City but had his effort blocked. He missed a sitter from close range when the opportunity came to him. However, he scored one consolation goal from the penalty spot toward the end.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 5

He was isolated and there was literally no supply for him. The long balls sent out to him were too ambitious and he left alone to do the best out of it, which doesn’t work anyway. In the first half, we saw, he dropped back so deep to get the ball which suggests the Toffees were toothless in the middle of the park.

Substitutes for Everton

Abdoulaye Doucoure (58 min on for Dwight McNeil) – NA

Issac Price (58 mins on for Tom Davies) – NA

Seamus Coleman (64 mins on for Nathan Patterson) – NA

Neal Maupay (64 mins on for Idrissa Gueye) – NA

Ellis Simms (83 Mins on for Calvert-Lewin) – NA