Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Adam Jones

Everton player ratings as Dwight McNeil great and James Tarkowski good vs Dynamo Kyiv

Jordan Pickford

Was a constant voice from the back in trying to organise those in front of him as best he could, he might not have been wearing the armband but he was still showing those captain qualities. He was forced into a particularly good save from a rasping free kick in the first half, certainly keeping him on his toes.

Nathan Patterson

A very vibrant performance from the wing-back as he managed to get forward on a lot of occasions. Right from the off he was targeted with a number of long balls from either the goalkeeper or centre backs and he was great in the air, while getting into some great positions for crosses as the match went on too.

Ben Godfrey

We saw one of those textbook dashes from defence by Godfrey in the second, bursting through the centre of the pitch and advancing his side about 60 yards before laying the ball off. He was on hand to make a couple of important interceptions too, and looks comfortable in a centre-back role which lets him advance a little bit more.

READ MORE: Tuchel follows Lampard example as Everton and Chelsea share pre-season problem

READ MORE: Dwight McNeil opens up on Man United rejection and sets Everton target

Michael Keane

Looked comfortable at the heart of defence for the most part, no doubt aided by having two solid teammates next to him throughout his time on the pitch. He contributed with some important headers and interceptions in the first half particularly and got a good amount of minutes under his belt.

James Tarkowski

You don't want to get ahead of yourself in pre-season of course, but there's little question that Tarkowski has been the regular highlight in this summer's matches - and Friday night was no exception. Clearly nobody told him this was a friendly as his challenges were fair, but full-on - and he was crucial in keeping the away side out on a number of occasions with important interventions in and around the penalty area.

Vitalii Mykolenko

What an important night this must have been for the former Dynamo Kyiv defender. He wore the armband with pride and put in a strong performance to boot - looking one of the most energetic players on the pitch as he continually sprinted up and down the touchlines before rightly getting a standing ovation when being replaced.

Abdoulaye Doucoure

He played some lovely passes in the opening stages of the match to Patterson in particular, but as the visitors gained more of a foothold on the game as the first half went on he perhaps struggled to keep up with the rhythm of the match somewhat for a period. That did improve in his closing minutes of the game before he was replaced.

Alex Iwobi

Playing a little deeper than Evertonians might have been used to, Iwobi stood up to the challenge as fans have come to expect from him. He was full of energy throughout the game, his intelligent passes were one of his side's best outlets throughout the game and he was alive to the danger defensively too.

Demarai Gray

He looked lively a number of times throughout the first half, putting defenders on the back foot with some dangerous runs towards the penalty area and whipping some nice crosses into the box. He had to come a bit deeper for possession than he might have liked and that perhaps affected his wider performance.

Anthony Gordon

Like his fellow winger, he might not have been allowed as much possession as he would have liked, but he still found a fair few openings to try and get in behind the Kyiv defence. Particularly in the second half he forced the goalkeeper into a strong save to beat away a low effort.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin

Got onto the scoresheet in very clever fashion with a late run in behind the defence and a lovely header into the top corner from Tarkowski's long ball forward. That was his only real clear-cut opportunity of the game unfortunately be he was strong in every battle and brought his teammates into the game very well throughout.

SUBS

Mason Holgate

Made a little bit of a mistake with a pass shortly after coming on which nearly allowed the hosts an opportunity, but he recovered well from that moment.

Dwight McNeil

Came on to a great ovation for his non-competitive debut for the club, and didn't take long to repay the supporters with a fantastic strike into the bottom corner. He then produced a lovely header to make it 3-0 as well in what was a very lively performance from the bench.

Dele

The 'false nine' role is clearly one that suits Dele's attributes. He was very involved in the game after his introduction with some lovely touches and clever passes to teammates.

Ruben Vinagre

Another making his non-competitive debut for his new side, the wing-back's biggest contribution was a lovely cross to see McNeil score his second of the match.

Allan

Didn't have all that much to do in the midfield after being introduced as the game was beginning to wind down somewhat by that stage.

Salomon Rondon

Got himself about very well at the top end of the pitch in terms of chasing down centre-backs and the goalkeeper but didn't get the chance to score that he would have relished.

Reece Welch

N/A

Stanley Mills

N/A

Lewis Warrington

N/A

Neils Nkounkou

N/A

READ NEXT:

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.