Everton: some final thoughts on the Derby
The 231st Merseyside derby has come and gone and the dust has settled on what was a far from memorable instalment in the longest running league derby in the game.
Did any of the Everton players enhance their reputations and their chances of surviving the expected summer cull?
It has to be said that very few Everton players really did their reputations much good yesterday. In one of the poorest derby games in a long time there was little to shout about for Blues fans.
But one of the things that struck me in the match was just how beatable a team Liverpool actually are without the fabled front three of Mohamad Sala, Roberto Firminio and Sadio Mane in tandem.
Those three put the Reds on the front foot in games and force their opponents to defend so much and often so deeply, that they rarely get the chance to expose Liverpool’s weaknesses.
But yesterday both Sala and Firminio were absent from the start; Sala of course didn’t play at all while Firminio came on later to little real effect. Mane also doesn’t look the same, dynamic player that first signed for the Reds.
Of course any team will miss a player having the kind of season Sala has enjoyed this term if he is absent from the side. But they also lack midfield creativity since Coutinho left. They were there for the taking yesterday for me and Everton failed to grab that chance.
Anyway enough about Liverpool! As far as the Blues are concerned it is very difficult to pick out very many players who shone although I thought Everton’s best performers were Jordan Pickford, Michael Keane, Idrissa Gueye and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Pickford again produced when he was asked to make the saves, especially in the first half and although his decision-making and distribution are sometimes suspect I thought he had another solid game.
His performance won’t have done his chances of claiming the England starting spot in-goal any harm either with national team boss Gareth Southgate watching in the stands (wearing a rather bizarre-looking flat cap!).
At centre back Keane seems to be finally finding his feet and the kind of form that persuaded Everton to pay Burnley £30 million for him last summer.
It has certainly helped him that he is playing alongside a regular, consistent partner in the vastly experienced Phil Jagielka. They have built a solid understanding and look the best choice at centre back for the remainder of the season.
Again although he missed out on the last England squad, I assume Southgate was also at Goodison to have another look at Keane, given that England are not exactly over-endowed with top quality centre halves.
Jagielka though cannot continue forever and he has lost the pace in recovery that he used to possess. Despite his great efforts for the Blues over the years, he does need replacing.
Idrissa Gueye produced just the performance that you expect from him. He was busy, hard-working and full of energy in midfield but why if he was fit didn’t he start!?
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The other player who did well (until the goal-chance!) was Calvert-Lewin. As previously mentioned I felt he should also have been on from the start and when he did come on in the second half he made a real impact.
He is still young and a little raw but he’s also a handful as he proved yesterday. And I also liked his determination to get stuck into Liverpool, something absent from other players.
On the down side though he did end up missing Everton’s best chance to secure a long-overdue win against Liverpool.
That late miss underlined both his ability and the room for improvement in his game. He was in the right place at the right time but then made the wrong decision with his effort on goal.
It was an incredibly frustrating way to finish what had otherwise been a good effort from the lad.
Next: Our three keys from the Derby
Everton though didn’t really deserve to win the match they had not done anywhere near enough to take the points until that late flurry of half-chances.