James Rodriguez wasn’t even in the squad as he was suffering from fatigue. It was hard to say if he would have made a difference as Everton spent much of the first half under almost non-stop pressure from Wolves.
However, 3 minutes into the second half and with Everton attacking the Street End, Glyfi Sigurdsson hit an out-swinging corner and Richarlison directed an almost perfect header into the far corner. It was Richarlison’s first goal in 12 games. And it proved to be the difference and Everton won 1-0. Here’s how the Everton players rated….
Jordan Pickford
Another solid performance with England Manager Gareth Southgate watching from the stands. Pulled off some good saves in the first half to keep Wolves at bay. He looked confident and grabbed every ball he went after in the second half.
8/10
Ben Godfrey
A great bounceback after a poor performance last week for the young central defender. He was solid in the air and proved to have a good sense of timing as he made some key interceptions and followed them up with a lung-bursting run deep in to the Wolves’ half.
8/10
Michael Keane
With Southgate in attendance, Keane made his case for inclusion in the England squad. He dominated in the air and impressed by chasing down Wolves danger-man Adama Traore and dispossessing him with a fine sliding tackle.
7/10
Yerry Mina
Worked hard at the back, especially in the first half. Often used his height and length to his advantage. A solid performance on a return from an injury
7/10
Seamus Coleman
A captain’s performance especially in the second when he seemed to never stop running until he was subbed for Tom Davies with about 10 minutes left. Affected the game and left the match to a deserved standing ovation.
8/10
Allan
Not an outstanding performance, but not a poor one. Like most of the Blues, he improved in the second half.
6/10
Abdoulaye Doucoure
Had some issues with giving the ball away in the first half, but he grew into the game. He’s still recovering from a serious injury, so some leeway should be given.
6/10
Lucas Digne
Marking Adama Traore is increasingly becoming a difficult experience for defenders. But he was able to deal with the Wolves attacker for the most part. He became more involved on the attack in the second half.
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7/10
Gylfi Sigurdsson
It’s becoming almost like a loop but Sigurdsson didn’t do much in the first half.
Things were different in the second half as he just about dropped a corner onto Richarlison’s head for the only goal. He was unlucky not to score himself with two shots from outside the box.
7/10
Dominic Calvert-Lewin
He was his usual energetic self. Winning most of his headers and finding space. He just couldn’t find his touch around goal.
6/10
Richarlison
He hadn’t scored in 11 games and it didn’t look like he would end that streak on his first half showing. Cue 3 minutes into the second half as Richarlison turned a Sigurdsson corner into a very good headed goal, which left Wolves’ ‘keeper John Ruddy stranded. His goal gave him more energy and he kept on running.
8.5/10 (Man of the Match)
Substitutes
Tom Davies
Came on to help shore up the defense and did so, especially with a key interception in the Everton penalty box.
7/10