By Liam Thomas

4th Feb, 2023 | 1:16pm

BT Sport commentator wowed by fighting spirit of Everton defender Vitalii Mykolenko

BT Sport commentator Darren Fletcher was left wowed by the aggressive nature of Everton defender Vitalii Mykolenko in the opening minutes against Arsenal on 4 February.

Mykolenko got off to an absolute flyer at Goodison Park, chasing every Arsenal player down with a frantic and tireless pace.

Fletcher confessed that Mykolenko had been “tigerish” in the opening minutes of Sean Dyche’s first game as Everton’s head coach.

“That’s aggressive from Mykolenko,” exclaimed commentator Fletcher live on BT Sport. (4 February, 12:37)

“The crowd enjoyed it, they are going to need that kind of spirit today.

“Mykolenko has been tigerish in the opening minutes.”

Strong early signs.

From the outset, the Toffees looked like more of a team that knew what they were doing, something which went missing far too many times under Frank Lampard.

The team’s compactness was the obvious change that Dyche has made so far and Everton supporters must be happy with the intensity and organisation.

And it’s nice to see Goodison Park bouncing again, something that will be massively needed in Dyche’s reign to change the fortunes of the team around.

Arsenal have been unplayable at times this season and the fact the Blues kept them at bay throughout the first half suggests Dyche has already worked a bit of magic.

Structure is exactly what this Everton team needed and it looks like Dyche has implemented this in the starting XI already. Is it too early to get carried away?

Definitely, but the signs are pointing to a much more positive and competitive style of football under Dyche so far.