Dominic Calvert-Lewin flops with 3/10 – Everton player ratings v Crystal Palace
Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s first red card of his career was the main talking point as Everton and Crystal Palace played out a 0-0 draw in the FA Cup.
Arnaut Danjuma and Calvert-Lewin were both guilty of thwarting chances for the Toffees, as were Jean-Philippe Mateta and Jefferson Lerma for Palace.
It was a battle of resolute defences as the two Premier League clubs were locked in a checkmate, forcing an FA Cup replay following the Round 4 draw.
Here, Goodison News rates the Everton players out of 10 for their performances against Crystal Palace.
Joao Virginia – 6
Covering for Jordan Pickford, who had been benched for the first time this season, the young goalkeeper pulled off a couple of fine saves but looked shaky with his array of passing.
Seamus Coleman – 7
During a 14th FA Cup campaign for the defender, Coleman led by example, chasing back to halt Jean-Philippe Mateta from a likely opening goal for Crystal Palace. Made a couple of good sliding blocks in the closing minutes to preserve the draw.
James Tarkowski – 5
The no-nonsense defender probably should have been booked early on for his crunching challenge on Matheus Franca. He was caught out a couple of times, saved by his defensive teammates with last-ditch recoveries.
Jarrad Branthwaite – 9
At the tender age of 21, it was Branthwaite’s turn to show his veteran centre-back partner how it is done, acting cool, calm and collected in defence against Mateta, Franca and Eberechi Eze. He won 100 per cent of his tackles and 100 per cent of his ground and aerial battles. [FotMob]
Vitalii Mykolenko – 6
The Ukrainian was his usual rock-solid self at left-back, doing well to suppress the threat of Franca. He also linked up well with Harrison and McNeil, before and after they switched flanks.
Amadou Onana – 8
Crystal Palace bypassed the midfield for much of the match, but Onana was extremely effective once he got close. He closed down any passes from the defence into Chris Richards and Jefferson Lerma and was targeted as a threat when Everton were in possession.
James Garner – 8
One of the brighter, sharper players on the pitch, Garner maintained an 86 per cent successful pass rate and delivered a multitude of dangerous set pieces, as per FotMob. He had a golden opportunity to score with five minutes of normal time remaining but skied his effort.
Dwight McNeil – 5
McNeil was unusually quiet, going relatively unnoticed after a beautiful control in the Palace penalty box in the opening 20 minutes. But the midfielder was much more involved after swapping wings with Harrison, cutting in on his right foot instead. No Toffees fan would have wanted to watch as he was stretchered off the pitch after what seemed an innocent incident from a corner.
Arnaut Danjuma – 6
Danjuma looked like Everton’s best player in a first half starved of any real quality. Made several threatening runs in behind and probably should have done better with a couple of his shots, worrying Dean Henderson on two occasions.
Jack Harrison – 5
Harrison did well to support the two forwards through the middle, doing enough to earn an assist but Danjuma was unable to convert from a tight angle. It is always a tough ask to beat the experienced Nathaniel Clyne and he was held back considerably by the 32-year-old defender.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 3
You could see Calvert-Lewin’s want to be involved but he was unable to strike fear into the Palace defence, losing a lot of his ground and aerial duels and being caught offside far too many times. His one shot on target was easily saved by Dean Henderson and his night was made even worse as he was sent off for a studs-up challenge on Clyne.
Substitutes
Beto (On for Arnaut Danjuma 80′) – 6
The Portuguese striker almost had an instant impact after Calvert-Lewin’s red card, sliding the ball across for Garner but his effort was blasted over the crossbar.
Andre Gomes (On for Dwight McNeil 89′) – N/A
In other Everton news, David Ornstein shared a new transfer update today amid £135million reports.