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Barnsley 3-5 Everton – Player Ratings

By Steve Nicholls

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Everton survived a huge scare before eventually getting the better of Barnsley in the second round of the Capital One Cup on Wednesday evening, but how did the players fare on the night?

Here are my player ratings for the eight-goal thriller at Oakwell Stadium.

Joel Robles – 5

Similar to Tim Howard’s performance against Manchester City on Sunday in the way that some late saves didn’t appease for some other glaring early errors that had already seen the damage done.

The Spaniard’s reluctance to come off his line put the defence under serious pressure and his attempts to prevent the second goal were woeful at best.

Matthew Pennington – 7

The debutant was very unfortunate to be replaced at half time due to tactical reasons, as he was arguably the visitors’ best player up until that point.

He looked steady in defence and didn’t seem overawed when going forward either – a solid 45 minutes from the right-back.

Phil Jagielka – 5

One of his worst individual performances in a long time. The captain looked sluggish all night and didn’t cover himself in glory for the first goal.

With Ramiro Funes Mori reportedly on the verge of signing, Jagielka’s place in the team could be under doubt if he puts in more showings like this.

John Stones – 6

For the first time it appeared as though the intense speculation surrounding his future got to Stones on Wednesday.

Playing at his former home ground, the centre-back was unassertive and uncertain, with his defending for the first goal raising serious questions about his commitment to the cause. He was the better of the Toffees’ two central defenders, though.

Bryan Oviedo – 6

Understandably, the Costa Rican looked a little rusty on his first outing since yet another injury lay-off, but he got vital minutes under his belt and looked solid enough.

The left-back became more and more influential going forward as the game wore on and should have won his side a penalty in the second half.

Tom Cleverley – 7

Another impressive display from the versatile 26-year-old. The former Manchester United man hasn’t put much of a foot wrong since moving to Merseyside and put in another decent showing on Wednesday.

The midfielder was steady in midfield and seamlessly moved to right-back in the second period when Roberto Martinez made a tactical change. He is becoming more of a valuable asset with every fixture that goes by.

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Muhamed Besic – 7

He failed to track his runner for the third Barnsley goal, but given this was his first competitive appearance in months, the Bosnian can be forgiven for a momentary lack of concentration.

Aside from that the combative midfielder was strong in the tackle and composed in possession – he should be getting more minutes this season.

Aiden McGeady – 5

He is hardly a fans favourite and he didn’t help his cause with a poor miss in the first half that could have given the Blues an early lead and saved them the late drama that was eventually needed.

The winger was withdrawn at half time and you would suspect we will not see too much more of the wide man for the rest of the campaign.

Steven Naismith – 6

There were times when the attacker didn’t quite seem up to speed with the rest of the team’s fluent play going forward, but his nous in the box means he is worth his weight in gold on these occasions.

A neatly taken goal, on top of another chance missed capped off a hit and miss individual performance from the Scot.

Kevin Mirallas – 8

He won’t get too many plaudits for his showing given the performance of another Everton winger, but the Belgian was brilliant and started the comeback against the League One outfit.

The former Olympiakos player looked bright and creative going forward, grabbed a vital goal, put in a defensive shift when needed and generally did everything that you would ask of him during a difficult game. Very impressive.

Romelu Lukaku – 8

Sometimes, as we know all too well by now, the forward’s touch had the away fans scratching their head, so heavy was it, but he was a big threat and got two vital goals on the night.

Regardless of how he or the team are playing, the Belgian is always good for a goal and he delivered once again here, and he could have had many more than the two he managed. All in all a very good nights work for the former Chelsea man.

Ross Barkley – 8

His defensive work still leaves much to be desired, but it is pleasing to see his impact in the final third improving all the time.

The forward provided drive and purpose just when the away side needed it the most – there are still improvements to be made in his game, but Barkley is just starting to fulfill his potential – long may it continue.

Gerard Deulofeu – 9

Outstanding. Simply outstanding. Given this was almost his first competitive showing since the turn of the year and he managed 75 minutes, it is hard to find fault with what the Spaniard offered at Oakwell.

Only a goal was missing from his performance and he nearly found that with the last kick of normal time with an audacious curled effort from the edge of the area.

The former Barcelona player contributed three assists and generally looked unplayable and without him, Evertonians would still be mulling over a dismal Capital One Cup exit. A true man of the match performance from Everton’s young wonderkid.

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