Dwight McNeil shines in 9/10 heroic display – Everton player ratings v Crystal Palace
Dwight McNeil was the hero as Everton claimed their first Premier League win of the season against Crystal Palace at Goodison Park on Saturday (28 September).
Sean Dyche will have been fearing the worst after the Eagles took the lead through Marc Guehi in a disappointingly slow first half for the Toffees, though this all changed after the break.
McNeil came back out for the second half with a bang, firing home twice in the space of seven minutes as the Toffees finally lifted themselves out of the Premier League relegation zone with a 2-1 win.
Goodison News ranked each player out of 10.
Jordan Pickford – 5
Will be disappointed with how the Toffees conceded the opening goal. Was also too hasty with his launched balls forward, giving possession straight back to the visitors. Made a couple of key saves, though.
Ashley Young – 5
Despite grabbing the assist for McNeil’s first goal of the afternoon, he was too careless in possession and lost too many duels all over the park. Defensive experience was important in the closing stages.
James Tarkowski – 8
Very commanding in the penalty area, working well to cover for his centre-back partner, who was slightly rusty after returning to the starting XI for the first time this season.
Jarrad Branthwaite – 7
Looked a little rusty upon returning to the squad but won the majority of his duels. Everton have clearly missed his presence in defence. The whole squad looked much more comfortable.
Vitaliy Mykolenko – 6
A decent display on the right flank, up against Eddie Nketiah and Daniel Munoz – not an easy duo to contain. Palace’s attack meant he could not help in the final third as much as he may have wanted.
Abdoulaye Doucoure – 3
Extremely sloppy at the base of midfield. Clearly not adapting well to a deeper role but remained on the pitch for too long despite Tim Iroegbunam and Idrissa Gueye being available on the bench.
Orel Mangala (Off for James Garner 83′) – 7
Possibly his best performance in an Everton shirt so far. Stood strong in the middle of the park, made it difficult to get the ball off him and remained calm in possession.
Jesper Lindstrom (Off for Jack Harrison 46′) – 4
Struggled to get into the game, hence Dyche’s decision to hook him at the half-time break. Was barely involved in the first half and lost too many battles when Everton were defending.
Dwight McNeil (Off for Idrissa Gueye 83′) – 9
An absolute hero for the Toffees, scoring twice in quick succession to completely overturn the tie against Palace, rather unexpectedly following a poor first half for Dyche’s team.
Iliman Ndiaye – 8
Such a bright performance from the new signing, though he flew under the radar due to those around him. Stayed strong on the ball and kept pushing the Toffees forward at every opportunity.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 5
Far from his best performance. Completely outshone by his teammates at Goodison Park, seeing little of the ball in the final third and being squeezed out of the game by Palace’s defenders.
Substitutes
Jack Harrison (On for Lindstrom 46′) – 7
Delivered a superb cross for McNeil to fire in his second goal of the afternoon. Left out of the starting XI but has certainly made his case to play against Newcastle United.
Idrissa Gueye (On for McNeil 83′) – N/A
James Garner (On for Mangala 83′) – N/A
In other Everton news, a journalist has shared what Dan Friedkin must do if both the Toffees and Roma qualify for the same European competition.
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