Alan Shearer wowed by what James Tarkowski did in first half v Manchester City, ‘perfection’
Alan Shearer was impressed by James Tarkowski’s defending against the Manchester City attack as Everton took a 1-0 lead into the half-time break.
Matheus Nunes looked to latch onto a ball down the wing from Bernardo Silva, but the Toffees centre-back had other ideas as he dispossessed the Portuguese midfielder with a brilliant slide tackle.
Everton would then go on to score through constant pressure and a Jack Harrison goal – a former Man City man – and the resilience in Sean Dyche’s defence could be thanked for keeping out the likes of Julian Alvarez, Phil Foden, Jack Grealish and Silva.
“Good tackle, he read it well,” Shearer said live on Amazon Prime on Wednesday (27 December).
“He timed his tackle to perfection, not wanting to give away a foul there. He did so well.”
Professional display
It was an extremely professional first-half display from Everton, doing brilliantly to pounce on Man City’s mistakes and take a 1-0 lead into the break against the current Premier League champions.
The Toffees attack was vigilant and savage when it came to the early pressure, which would eventually force errors from Manuel Akanji and Silva before Everton scored the opener.
Luckily for the Everton fans, the team are yet to lose a game this season when taking the lead. They will have their fingers crossed, for sure.
Dwight McNeil was able to slip through the widening cracks in the Man City defence before sliding the ball across to Harrison, who was arriving on the scene as a late runner, poking his effort beyond Ederson.
Tarkowski’s tackle on Nunes, however, is an example of the hard work put in by the whole team all over the pitch. Whether it was the defender winning a crunching tackle, Beto holding up the ball further up the pitch, or James Garner latching onto a misplaced pass in midfield, every single player did their job to perfection.
In other Everton news, an exit-linked player has spoken out on his future at Goodison Park.