Vitalii Mykolenko blows away former manager with scenes away from Everton
Everton star Vitalii Mykolenko is a crucial asset for David Moyes.
Everton signed Adam Aznou as competition for the 25-year-old, but the Ukrainian remains the first-choice option on Merseyside.
The Hill Dickinson Stadium outfit have had to play James Garner when Mykolenko has been absent with injury, so Moyes needs him to stay fit.
It seems that he is just as important for the national team, as he is to the Blues, after his latest exploits on the international stage.
Vitalii Mykolenko stars as Ukrainian media bowled over
Mykolenko was one of several Everton stars in international action, and his Ukraine side beat Iceland 5-3 on 10 October.
The Everton left-back notched an assist and featured for the full 90 minutes for his country, in the narrow victory.
Former Ukraine manager Myron Markevych was impressed by the Blues star, in quotes reported by Sport.ua, he said: “I would like to mention Ruslan Malinovsky, who returned to the national team and scored two goals at once, as well as Vitaliy Mykolenko, who, in addition to the assist, did a tremendous amount of work on the wing.”
Ukraine Top News were also complementary, saying: “The highlight of the match was the return of Ruslan Malinovskyi to the national squad. In the 14th minute, he opened the scoring after an excellent assist from Vitalii Mykolenko.”
Tribuna handed the Toffees ace a 7.5 out of 10 rating, saying: “Only the second goal came from Vitaliy’s flank, but through no direct fault of his.
“Instead, he played a key role in Ukraine’s first goal, practically single-handedly organising that attack with an assist, and also won 9/12 defensive duels.”
David Moyes will be delighted by scenes away from Everton
Moyes needs Mykolenko to be in form, especially from an attacking sense, and it seems that he is after his display for his nation.
He set up the first goal, and the Blues need him to start replicating that in the Premier League, when he returns to action.
- Mykolenko has featured 128 times for the Toffees
- He has notched four goals and three assists in that time
- Moyes needs his output to increase
Moyes is looking to qualify for European football, and he needs contributions from all over the pitch if his side are to have any chance of achieving that ambition.
Given that Jake O’Brien is the main option on the opposite flank, a centre-back, who lacks the natural attacking nature of a modern full-back, the Blues need their Ukrainian star to come up with more contributions.
It seems like he is capable after his latest showing for the national team, so he could bring that back to Merseyside, and offer a new aspect to his game to Moyes, at a crucial juncture in the campaign.
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