Tarkowski 4/10 shocker, MOTM gets 9/10 – Everton player ratings v Crystal Palace
Everton picked up a crucial three points on their travels with a 2-1 victory away to Crystal Palace on Saturday night.
Off the back of an enthralling 2-2 draw with Liverpool, Everton entered this game full of momentum, knowing that a win would do wonders for their hopes of avoiding relegation.
The Toffees took a late first-half lead through Beto, not long after Crystal Palace had a goal ruled out controversially.
However, the quality of Carlos Alcaraz proved to be the difference with the deadline day arrival scoring and assisting in the game with the Toffees securing a crucial 2-1 win.
Here, Goodison News rates the performance of each player.
Defensive mishaps for Everton v Crystal Palace
Jordan Pickford – 7
Made a handful of good stops and his distribution was impressive throughout the clash. Not much he could have done with the goal, with his defence largely to blame for the hosts getting a route back into the game.
Jake O’Brien – 6
Defensively sound, but his passing left a lot to to be desired. Gave the ball away needlessly on countless occasions but made up for it with his strength in his duels.
James Tarkowski – 4
Nearly gifted Palace a goal in the opening minutes after a botched attempt of a clearance and looked shaky from that moment on. Passing was often erratic and just never looked comfortable.
Jarrad Branthwaite – 6
Quite similar in performance to Tarkowski. Made several errors, one of which led directly to Crystal Palace’s goal. Again just looked all over the place defensively. Improved as the game went on and made some crucial blocks and challenges in the second half.
Vitalii Mykolenko – 6
As was the theme for far too many players, his passing just wasn’t good enough throughout. Did what he needed to do defensively for the large part, but was sloppy when in possession.
Idrissa Gueye – 5
Kept it simple when in possession but failed to compete physically in midfield. Lost out in a 50/50 far too often and couldn’t relieve the pressure on the Everton backline when needed.
James Garner – 7
Much of the game was lost in midfield for the Toffees, with Garner doing little to impact that. Offered slightly more defensive security than that of Gueye, but he is again a player capable of far more than he showcased against Palace.
Jesper Lindstrom – 7 (for Ashley Young 79′)
Lindstrom hasn’t had the easiest life at Everton but his performance against Palace showed signs of promise. Was always looking to carve out an opportunity and caused problems all night.
Carlos Alcaraz shines on Everton audition
Carlos Alcaraz – 9 (for Iroegbunam 86′)
Alcaraz registered the assist for Beto’s goal and took his own very well. Was generally impressive throughout. Rarely gave the ball away and always looked like a creative threat. Everton look to have signed a real gem.
Jack Harrison – 5
Had little involvement in the game for Everton, and failed to do much with the ball when he had it. Carved out one excellent opportunity in the first half but struggled to impact the game aside from that.
Beto – 8
Caused problems for Palace all night long. Used his physicality remarkably well up top and took his goal very well after a mistake at the back. The hosts struggled to cope with his hold-up play, while Everton failed to take much advantage of it.
Substitutions
Ashley Young N/A (for Lindstrom 79′)
Tim Iroegbunam N/A (for Alcaraz 86′)