The first match of Everton’s Premier Leagye season has come and gone, and the Toffees were unable to grab a result against Leeds. Fans are certainly entitled to be mad at the team selection, which was far away from what pundits were expecting.
The first half was all Leeds. Everton were employing Jake O'Brien and James Garner as fullbacks, both of whom aren’t exactly naturals at that position. Leeds exploited Everton in every area of the pitch, earning chance after chance.
It seemed like a Leeds opener was invetiable. However, although Everton’s backline was a circus, they found a way to keep the score level entering the second part of the game.
The second half started off way smoother for Everton, as they found themselves playing on the front foot a bit more and had a larger share of possession.
However, as regular time was winding down, Leeds were awarded a penalty as the refereee deemed that James Tarkowski’s arm touched the ball. The confusing part was that Tarkowski’s arm was right next to his body. Doesn’t that mean that his arm was in a natural position? Look, we at PRT aren’t referees, but in all honesty, nobody knows what a handball is anymore.
Everton will have to rebound against Brighton on Sunday before starting their EFL Cup campaign on Wednesday.
On the bright side, Thierno Barry and Jack Grealish made their official Everton debuts, and they both looked pretty decent. Perhaps next game will see them make their first starts. Surely, they can’t do any worse than the starters today, right?