Jamie Carragher tears into ‘stupid’ Teden Mengi after incident in Everton clash v Luton Town
Luton Town defender Teden Mengi has been torn into by Jamie Carragher for an “absolutely ridiculous” incident in the clash with Everton.
Sean Dyche’s side extended their unbeaten run in the Premier League to four games with a 1-1 draw at Kenilworth Road on Friday (3 March) thanks to Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s first-half penalty.
While the Toffees felt aggrieved to not have been given a spot-kick earlier in the half for a tackle on Dwight McNeil, Carragher was quick to slam Hatters defender Mengi for a “stupid” challenge on Jarrad Branthwaite.
Speaking on Sky Sports Main Event (3 May, 20:22) he said: “Branthwaite’s in there, it’s not really near the ball. He’s got his arms around him which is absolutely stupid. I don’t think he actually throws him to the floor as such, but he certainly stops him from getting around the back of him.
“I mean Branthwaite’s trying to move and he’s not letting him, he’s got his two arms around him. What is Mengi doing? Absolutely ridiculous.”
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While the initial suggestion was that Branthwaite had gone down too easily under pressure from Mengi, the VAR review showed that the Toffees defender simply couldn’t do anything to not hit the ground under that amount of pressure.
Some pundits have been critical of the young defender’s work going forward this season but he showed at Kenilworth Road he can be a nuisance in the penalty area, even if not quite to the same level as centre-back partner James Tarkowski.
Calvert-Lewin’s penalty was dispatched well and while the keeper’s trailing leg almost kept it out, it had enough power and conviction to hit the back of the net and give the Toffees a deserved lead in the first half.
Friday night’s clash showed that there is an incredibly solid core of a team at Dyche’s disposal currently, the next issue will be keeping that spine together amid the off-the-field chaos at Goodison ahead of the transfer window.
In other Everton news, sources close to Farhad Moshiri have spoken out after new issues arose around 777 Partners at Goodison Park
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