On the back of a wonderful performance against Chelsea, Everton were expected to return to winning ways when they welcomed bottom side Leicester City to Goodison Park on Sunday.
However, the match did not prove to be as straightforward as it was being made out earlier on and Everton had to dig deep in order to claim a draw from the clash.
The performance which Everton put in on the day was decent and they did look dangerous in attack. However, the Toffees’ backline were poor once again and conceded two goals which could have been easily prevented.
Therefore at the end, the match will probably be viewed as two points lost rather than a point gained by manager Roberto Martinez despite the late goal from Romelu Lukaku to salvage things and Everton now face an almighty battle even to finish in the top half of the table this season.
Here is an analysis of the performance of the Everton players on the day –
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Player Rating |
Comment |
Tim Howard – 4 |
Howard was man of the match on his return to the side against Chelsea last week but on Sunday, the American international was undoubtedly the flop. Although Howard made a couple of decent saves throughout, it was his errors which allowed Leicester to score both the goals and he will surely not look back upon the performance with much fondness. |
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Seamus Coleman – 6.5
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Following a couple of quiet displays over the past few weeks, Seamus Coleman showed that he was returning to his best with an adventurous performance on the day.
Defensively, the Irishman was solid and he also ventured in attack effectively, providing a couple of wonderful crosses for Romelu Lukaku. |
Phil Jagielka – 6 |
Phil Jagielka was strong as always at the back and did very well to deal with the threat posed by Kramaric. The second half was slightly difficult for the experienced defender though but all in all, the overall display was a good one. |
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John Stones – 6
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While Stones was not his usual calm self on the day, he put in a good performance alongside Jagielka.
He did not do too much wrong and made a crucial intervention to deny Jeffery Schlupp just on the stroke of half time. |
Leighton Baines – 6 |
Leighton Baines made a return straight back into the lineup following his injury and put in a very solid display at left back. One could not fault Baines for his efforts at the back but from a hypercritical point of view, the Englishman could and should have done a bit more going forward. |
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James McCarthy – 6.5
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James McCarthy was once again impressive at the heart of the midfield for Everton.The Irishman was very good with his passing and did well from a defensive sense by breaking down Leicester City attacks at their origin.
He also could have had an assist after creating a good chance for Lukaku with a bit of invention but the Belgian striker could not convert. |
Muhamed Besic – 6 |
Besic managed to keep his place in the starting lineup due to the suspension of Gareth Barry and the young man was once again quietly one of the better performers for Everton on the day. Full of heart and running, Besic did not allow the Leicester attack too much time on the ball and on the basis of the performance – he could well keep his place in the starting lineup. |
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Aaron Lennon – 5 |
The performance on the day by Aaron Lennon perhaps summed up his career so far.
Although very dangerous whenever on the ball, the winger simply could not deliver the final product and wasted a couple of very good situations for the Toffees. |
Steven Naismith – 6.5 |
Hard working as always, Steven Naismith grabbed a goal to hand Everton the lead early on into the second period. Despite the goal though, the Scotsman did not quite have the same impact he would have liked and was brought off as Everton were chasing the game. |
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Ross Barkley – 5.5 |
It was another below par performance from the Everton prodigy on the night.
Although Barkley tried hard to make things happen whenever on the ball, the midfielder simply did not show enough quality and was hauled off in the second period. |
Romelu Lukaku – 6.5 |
The match was a mixed bag for Romelu Lukaku. Admittedly, the striker had the last laugh as he played a big role in Everton’s equalizer late into the game. However, Lukaku was guilty of missing far too many chances early and if he had his shooting boots on, the Toffees would have been out of sight. |
Substitues
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Darron Gibson – 6
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Gibson was brought on in the second half and he was neat and tidy on the ball without having too much of an impact. |
Christian Atsu – 6 |
Atsu replaced Barkley and it has to be said that the Ghanaian star looked much more effective than the Englishman for the short time he was on the pitch. |
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Kevin Mirallas – NA |
Surprisingly brought on with only a few minutes left as Everton were chasing the game and he did not have enough time to do anything of note. |
