Alan Shearer wowed by James Tarkowski v Nottingham Forest, he ‘epitomised’ everything good about Everton defence
James Tarkowksi “epitomised” everything good about the Everton defence in their victory against Nottingham Forest.
That is according to pundit Alan Shearer, who named the Toffees centre-back in his Premier League Team of the Week.
The 31-year-old played the entire 90 minutes as Everton defeated Forest 1-0 at the City Ground on Saturday (2 December).
Winger Dwight McNeil scored the only goal of the match, with Tarkowski helping Sean Dyche’s side keep a clean sheet.
“The captain epitomised everything that was good about Everton’s defensive display as he headed, blocked and cleared everything away,” Shearer told the official Premier League website.
Super display
Clean sheets have been hard to come by for Everton in recent years, with the defence leaking goals in the Premier League, leading to the club almost being relegated in the last two seasons.
But they kept a rare one at the City Ground, which has been a difficult place to go to for many teams recently, thanks to a solid display at the back.
Tarkowski was in fine form alongside young centre-back Jarrad Branthwaite, who is turning into a top player under the guidance of his veteran partner.
Full-backs Vitaliy Mykolenko and Ashley Young also played their parts in the shutout, as did goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who produced several important saves to keep out the Forest attack.
The three points lifted Dyche’s men into 18th place in the Premier League table, with the win and the clean sheet certain to give them plenty of much-needed confidence for the home clash with Newcastle United on Thursday (7 December).
In other Everton news, Alan Shearer was stunned by “mad” Toffees footage from their match with Nottingham Forest live on BBC.