Everton’s winless run extended to three matches after the Toffees suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester City on Saturday night.
In all fairness though, Everton performed very well throughout the match and were unlucky to suffer the defeat as they were hard done by because of harsh penalty – through with City managed to find the only goal of the match.
At the end, the good performance is scant consolation for Everton and the defeat is another huge hammer blow in the Toffees’ hopes of finishing in one of the European positions this season.
Here is an analysis of the performance of the Everton players on the day –
|
Rating |
Comment |
| Tim Howard – 6
|
Surprisingly had very little to do throughout the match and could have proven to be the hero for the Toffees as he came really close to denying Yaya Toure from the penalty spot. Made another good save to thwart Pozo in the second half as well. |
|
Tony Hibbert – 6.5
|
Filling in at right back for Seamus Coleman, Tony Hibbert proved once again why he is such an important member of the Everton squad by putting in a very solid performance.
While the veteran defenders’ passing could have been a bit better, he was almost faultless in defence on the night. |
| Phil Jagielka – 6.5
|
Phil Jagielka was another one of the Everton defenders who managed to impress on the day. The Everton captain looked very assured on the ball and dealt with the City attack really well. Very unfortunate to give away the crucial penalty though as he seemed to have made minimal contact with James Milner. |
|
Sylvain Distin – 6
|
Veteran defender Sylvain Distin made a number of important interventions alongside Jagielka in the heart of the Everton defence.
However, Distin still looks a bit shaky on the ball and his distribution could have been a lot better. |
| Leighton Baines – 6
|
Baines put in a solid if unspectacular performance but the Everton fans would have most certainly been looking for a bit more from the England international from an attacking perspective. Did not get forward as usual and whenever he did, his deliveries were not of the highest of qualities. |
|
Gareth Barry – 6
|
Neat and tidy as always but perhaps did not do enough to force the issue for Everton after they had gone a goal down early in the first half.
The midfielder was on the receiving end of a vicious challenge by Fernando and he was certainly a bit fortunate not to be serious injured from the collision. |
| Muhamed Besic – 5.5
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Besic is still struggling to come to grips with the English game but his performance was a steady improvement. Good on the ball but the Bosnian international can still do a lot better going forward. |
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Seamus Coleman – 5.5
|
Coleman was deployed in a more advanced role on the night but he certainly did not have the desired effect.
The Irishman was easily nullified by the City backline and he rarely managed to embark on his trademark runs down the wings. |
| Kevin Mirallas – 6.5
|
Mirallas looked the best attacking player on the park for Everton but his end product left a lot to be desired. To be fair though, the Belgian international was a constant source of danger to the City backline and always looked like he could fashion a chance whenever on the ball. |
|
Samuel Eto’o – 6.5
|
Eto’o was once again used in a number 10 role and the experienced striker looked a real danger to the City defence.
The striker could not combine effectively with Lukaku but his combination play with Ross Barkley in the second half was encouraging. |
| Romelu Lukaku – 5
|
Certainly not one of his best performance but in fairness, the striker was starved of the ball for majority of the match. Did force a wonderful save from Joe Hart late on but one expects much more throughout the match from the striker. |
Substitutes
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Ross Barkley – 6.5
|
Brought on for the final half an hour of the game and did well. Barkley brought new life to the Everton side and combined nicely with Samuel Eto’o to fashion a couple of chances. Unfairly booked for diving though but referee Andre Marriner had a real shocker. |
| Leon Osman – NA
|
Not enough time handed to make an impact. |
