Ashley Young, James Garner flop as Jarrad Branthwaite shines in controversial derby – Everton player ratings vs Liverpool
It was the same old story for Everton at Anfield as a battling display ended in a 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in another game heavily influenced by controversial officiating.
The Toffees looked to have weathered the storm until Craig Pawson showed Ashley Young a second yellow in the 38th minute to leave the Reds with a man advantage, before Ibrahima Konate escaped a second yellow to enrage Sean Dyche after the break.
Insult as duly added to injury when substitute Michael Keane was penalised for handball and Mohamed Salah scored from the spot, before adding a late second on the counter to take the points for an otherwise undercooked home side.
Here, Goodison News rates the Everton players out of 10 for their performances at Anfield.
Jordan Pickford – 7
Solid performance. Active early and needed to be. Found Calvert-Lewin with a lovely ball over the top which the striker couldn’t control before the half. Made the stops he needed to although wasn’t under siege at any point. Couldn’t do much about the Salah penalty or the late breakaway.
Ashley Young (sent off ’38) – 3
Zero veteran experience shown. Vital covering tackle to deny Luis Diaz on an early break but that was as good as it got as he was soon booked for a foul on the same man, which left him at risk of a sending off which duly came in the 38th minute. Pawson showed absolutely no leniency in showing the veteran two yellows, the second only after some delay, in the first half to give Everton an even bigger job to do. Hard to believe both fouls would have been punished so harshly in reverse but diving in when on a yellow was brainless.
Jarrad Branthwaite – 8 Man of the Match
Great display and has surely cemented his place in the starting XI long-term. Strong presence in the air throughout, to no surprise. Was probably the more assured of the two centre-backs for much of the afternoon even after Tarkowski grew into the game, winning numerous headers and making a couple of key blocks.
James Tarkowski – 7
Game of two halves. Gave away a free kick in a dangerous position with a clumsy first-half foul and looked sloppier than usual at times before the break. Improved massively after the interval and made an excellent double-block as part of a very strong second 45.
Vitalii Mykolenko (off for Chermiti ’88) – 7
Very good game in the circumstances. Made a couple of good early stops with players running at hime in a defensively sharp start, contrasting favourably to what happened on the other flank.
James Garner – 4
Anonymous display for much of the day. Has rightly been given a chance in the line-up by his manager but spent too much of the game following the action around without making much of an impact. Improved slightly in the second half and held his position in the reshuffled formation but a difficult outing.
Amadou Onana (off for Danjuma ’80) – 7
Battling display in the midfield in trying circumstances. Surged back to break up a three on two Liverpool counter-attack with a wonderful challenge in the first half and looked to get the ball down to play where possible.
Jack Harrison (off for Patterson ’46) – 6
Looked like a key outlet down the right from the off and put in some dangerous crosses before being sacrificed at the half as Sean Dyche went defensive.
Dwight McNeil (off for Keane ’46) – 6
Nice ball in could have given Calvert-Lewin the opener within minutes and did some important work back towards his own goal. Also removed at the break for the change in formation.
Abdoulaye Doucouré – 7
Solid game. Industrious work to break up play but couldn’t get much going offensively even before Everton went a man down. Contributed well defensively in a disciplined second half.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin (off for Beto ’61) – 5
Has been vital of late but couldn’t get it going today. Had a nice early chance in the air but couldn’t get the power or direction to put it past Alisson. Failed to bring down a ball over the top when clean through into the box before the half. Two key moments he has got right recently that could have made all the difference.
Substitutes
Nathan Patterson (on for Harrison ’46) –
Took a risk going to ground in the box allowing Diaz to dive and spark a VAR review for a penalty which wasn’t give.
Michael Keane (on for McNeil ’46) –
Possibly unlucky but his outstretched hand was penalised minutes later for a penalty after a second VAR review.
Beto (on for Calvert-Lewin ’61) –
Brought down by Konate for what appeared an obvious second yellow that wasn’t given.
Arnaut Danjuma (on for Onana ’80) – N/A
Youssef Chermiti (on for Mykolenko ’88) – N/A
In other Everton news, Jim White reacted uncertainly to Simon Jordan’s dismissive assessment of 777 takeover fears.