Everton player ratings vs Burnley: Ben Godfrey shines! Gylfi Sigurdsson needs to go!

Ben Godfrey put in a tremendous shift in the Everton defence.

Fabian Delph – 6

I feel like I have to mention Delph because even though he went off injured around 30 minutes into the game, he still impressed, completing both of his dribbles and completing 67% of his passes, he didn’t complete any defensive actions, but he made some great passes and filled in quite well in the left-wing back position. The only problem is Delph is probably out for the next few weeks. If Ancelotti gives Nkounkou a chance and the young Frenchman impresses, this could lead to Delph being reverted to a bench player instead of finally being given his chance to start due to Digne’s injury.

Ben Godfrey – 8.5 (MOTM)

Godfrey impressed every Everton fan today and may have cemented himself as Michael Keane’s partner in defence if Ancelotti decides to go back to the 4-3-3 since the team played much better than they had been playing with the 3-4-3. The Englishman had to go out to left-back after Delph’s injury and he played fantastically, arguably being the best player on the pitch after the 90 minutes were up.

Ben put up a defensive clinic in this game, grabbing 5 tackles, 2 clearances, 3 interceptions and he was only dribbled past once, even though he’s a natural centre-back playing at left-back. He also showed off his crisp passing ability which was a key reason the Toffees signed him from Norwich. Godfrey completed 85% of his passes and also completed both of his long balls that he attempted.

It was a fantastic showcase for Godfrey after also playing great against Leeds and I think it’s going to be impossible for Ancelotti to keep Godfrey out of the team after his fantastic performances which have been a huge factor in Everton’s defence becoming a lot more secure.

His performances definitely deserved the Man of the Match award from BT Sport and I’m also going to agree with them and choose Ben Godfrey as my Man of the Match for the Burnley vs Everton game.

Yerry Mina – 8

The Colombian centre-back was another standout player for the Toffees as he showed how talented he can be when he’s focused. Mina’s big problem has always been his lapses in concentration and it seemed like he was following this trend as he made a mistake which almost lead to Chris Wood scoring which forced a fantastic save out of Jordan Pickford.

Mina picked himself up after this mistake and proceeded to put on a great defensive performance, with 5 tackles, 4 interceptions, 3 clearances and he wasn’t dribbled past once. Yerry had arguably the best defensive performances but just missed out on the Man of the Match due to Ben Godfrey showing some great versatility. Mina also completed 83% of his passes and also had 94 touches, which was the second most behind Iwobi.

The Everton centre-backs are starting to step up, which could lead to some difficult decisions for Carlo Ancelotti unless he trusts Godfrey to play as Everton’s replacement left-back until Delph returns.

Michael Keane – 7

Keane had another solid performance for the Toffees, the former Burnley man was able to handle some of his former teammates quite well, with Keane proving to everybody why he is given opportunities in the England squad and if his form continues he may get a chance to start for the Three Lions in the Euros.

Keane did all the dirty work which allowed Godfrey and Mina to shine in a solid defensive performance, he grabbed a massive 9 clearances while also grabbing 2 interceptions, but as usual, it’s Keane’s passing which has shined, completing 90% of his tackles while also grabbing 82 touches.

Big Mick has shown that he doesn’t need to be the standout centre-back for Everton, he gets the job done without any complaints and is a leader at the back, which is why he has been given the captains armband and why he will probably continue to be Ancelotti’s first-choice centre-back for a while now.