Leon Osman raves about Nathan Patterson in Everton 4-1 loss v Brighton
Leon Osman has praised young defender Nathan Patterson for his effort in the first half as Everton suffered an embarrassing 4-1 defeat against Brighton in the Premier League on Tuesday (3 January).
Towards the end of the first half, the Toffees created a good opportunity where Patterson floated in a brilliant cross for Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who could keep it down and hit the target.
Osman, who also works for BBC Sport, hailed Patterson’s cross as “real quality” while commentating for the Premier League world feed (42 min), although the youngster did struggle in the first half defensively.
The Toffees trailed 1-0 at the break, but they were completely outplayed and outclassed by the visitors in the second half. Demarai Gray scored a consolation goal in the dying seconds of the match from the penalty spot.
“Dangerous that from Everton. Good bit of play, keeping possession,” said Osman on Premier League World feed.
“Once the ball delivered out wide, Patterson wants to deliver into the penalty area where Everton got numbers in there. A real quality cross in that penalty area.”
Injury?
Patterson really struggled in the first half. He is generally very good with his defensive qualities but made a ghastly error that led to the first goal.
He completely misjudged a cross from Moises Caicedo delivered for Kaoru Mitoma, which he failed to intercept. The Japan winger breezed past him and scored from close range.
He did recover from his mistake and continued bombing forward at every opportunity. The problem for Patterson is that he didn’t get enough defensive support from Dwight McNeil.
However, the Toffees lacked cohesion and there weren’t enough clear-cut chances from them. Demarai Gray and Tom Davies attempted shots from long distance, while James Tarkowski failed to glance his header on target.
After the break, Patterson was taken off due to injury, and Seamus Coleman came to replace him. Let’s hope that his injury is not serious and that he can shrug it off.
It was a pathetic performance from the home side, and there’s hardly any confidence the players can take from this game.
The Toffees are now winless in six games, losing five of them, and the board must make a bold call on Lampard.