Credit: Imago

Declan Carr

Mon 23 March 2026 18:40, UK

Everton star Vitalii Mykolenko proved me wrong in the 3-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday.

The Blues secured a comfortable victory at Hill Dickinson Stadium on 21 March to take a crucial step towards European football.

David Moyes will have been delighted with the Ukraine international’s contribution to the result, and I have to admit that I made a mistake.

I had argued after the Arsenal game that he should be nowhere near the starting line-up against the Stamford Bridge side.

He made a case for his position in Everton’s side for the foreseeable future, though, in the contest.

How did Mykolenko perform in Everton’s win over Chelsea?

Mykolenko’s position has been in doubt at Everton, but he made it clear why he is the starter in the win.

The Ukrainian played the full game against Liam Rosenior’s side, and he hardly put a foot wrong on both sides of the ball.

Mykolenko played three key passes and completed three of the five crosses that he attempted, per Sofascore.

He recorded 32 passes, misplacing 11 attempts to find a teammate for a 73 per cent pass accuracy, but his composure improved in his own half.

He completed 81 per cent in that area, with 17 of the 21 that he tried finding his own man, which will have impressed Moyes.

Defensively, he made five clearances, four recoveries and won all three of the tackles that he contested for a 100 per cent success rate.

The left-back was dribbled past three times and won four of the 10 duels that he attempted, but overall, he was brilliant.

Everton have easy decision to make on Mykolenko

If Mykolenko continues to play like that, then surely the Toffees will have no qualms about giving him a new contract.

His current deal runs out in the summer, and while there have been reports from his home country about a one-year clause being activated, there has been no official confirmation from the Blues yet.

Moyes has already reaffirmed his desire to keep hold of the 26-year-old beyond the end of the campaign, and after his performance last time out, it is probably the right move for both parties.

Whether it gets done remains to be seen, but it should be high on the priority list.