Everton player ratings v Liverpool: Conor Coady flops, Alex Iwobi shines
Everton saw their momentum after their win against Arsenal come to an end as they suffered a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool on Monday night.
The Toffees started strongly, but the Reds broke the deadlock with Mo Salah scoring against the run of play and Cody Gakpo securing the three points.
The visitors are still in the bottom three – one point away from Leeds United who are currently in 17th place.
Jordan Pickford – 3
Made an awful call while coming to collect the pass from Darwin Nunez and that left Salah an empty goal to score into. Pickford hasn’t had lapses in concentration of late, but this was entirely on him and he should’ve reacted better there.
Seamus Coleman – 4
Nearly put his team in trouble by handing Liverpool a break close to the penalty area for a needless challenge on Nunez. He could’ve done more for the second goal being stopped as well and it wasn’t a good game for the veteran.
Conor Coady – 2
Not the best of games against his boyhood club for the 29-year-old. Played a major role in allowing Liverpool to score their second goal as he failed to clear the ball away from the six-yard box. Made a needless challenge on Nunez and picked up a yellow too in the second half.
James Tarkowski – 6
Was unlucky not to score in the first half and that resulted in the Reds hitting the Toffees on the break to open the scoring. His passes too were a tad erratic in the second period, but it can be argued that he was one of their better players.
Vitalii Mykolenko – 3
Could’ve done a lot more to avoid Cody Gakpo from tapping the ball in to make it 2-0 and he’ll surely be gutted by his defensive efforts. He was getting turned over constantly and appeared to be the weak link in this Everton side throughout the game.
Alex Iwobi – 7
An impressive game for the winger who completed five out of his attempted seven take ons and also won five duels all game. He looked lively and got on the ball as often as he could trying to be the difference maker. However, the Reds proved to be too good for them.
Abdoulaye Doucoure – 6
Had a decent game and was tidy with his passing, achieving an accuracy rate which was north of 80 per cent. He was combative in the middle of the park and is surely proving why he deserves to be starting every week.
Idrissa Gueye – 7
Bossed the midfield as he boasted a pass accuracy of 89 per cent. Usually, Liverpool tend to dominate these midfield battles but Gueye kept them at bay. There were some positives to take for Everton from this one and his performance was certainly that.
Amadou Onana – 4
After a sensational performance against Arsenal, Onana had an evening worth forgetting against the Reds. He failed to make things happen and assert his dominance in midfield. His passing was also off the mark and it wasn’t an ideal performance.
Dwight McNeil – 6
Looked like an important attacking threat and played a number of telling crosses. However, Ellis Simms was not on the same wavelength as him and McNeil’s impact would’ve been more telling had Dominic Calvert-Lewin been fit.
Ellis Simms – 4
It was a bold call to start him in the Merseyside derby but it wasn’t one that paid off. He is not a player who likes the ball to feet and get others into the game. The intentions were for him to run in behind the Liverpool defence but they were too good for him and he struggled to get into the contest as he was often isolated up front for Everton.
Subs
Tom Davies – 4
Demarai Gray – 5
Neal Maupay – 4