Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
Frank Lampard delivers his verdict to Sky. “A tough game. Leicester are very good, their position in the table is relatively false because they are a strong team. We went toe to toe in big parts of the game, but the big quality moments from them won the game. I know they had chances, but so did we. We had early chances. Possession was pretty even, and then they score a goal out of this world. A difficult game but we have to stay level-headed about it. Maybe they are one of those teams that people go ‘Oh Leicester at Goodison’ but you have to respect them for the way they play, and they deserved their win. Injuries maybe broke our momentum.” On that subject, he reports that World Cup hopeful Dominic Calvert-Lewin has suffered a hamstring injury, and while it isn’t a particularly bad one, they’ll have to wait for the result of a scan.
Brendan Rodgers speaks to Sky. “We were very good tonight. It’s a very difficult place to come, Goodison Park. We knew we had to come and play well, and we did that tonight. From a defensive perspective we were co-ordinated, and our composure on the ball was impressive. With a bit more composure and quality we’d have had better opportunities to score. Overall it was a good balance. In the first seven games we conceded 22 goals. In the last seven we’ve conceded three. People who were not inside the club wouldn’t know what difficulties there was. But we regrouped and continued to work. I’m a development coach, and you can see it returning and coming back, to the level we saw tonight. Some outstanding football. We want to keep climbing the table and see where we finish before the break.”
As for James Maddison for England? “For me it is not a debate. If you can’t find a place for a player of that quality, who has produced so consistently for the last 18 months, it’s sad from a football perspective. His ability on the ball, his awareness, his cleverness … he’s one of the best at that. An absolutely brilliant player who is ready for a World Cup. He’s an outstanding talent.”
Thoughts of the managers coming up, so please don’t go anywhere just yet. But in the meantime, whack open another tab and get stuck into Andy Hunter’s match report, which has just landed.
James Maddison talks to Sky Sports, and is eventually asked the England Question. “Obviously the result is what we’re after when you don’t have a good start. But if you look at the performance today, from Wardy all the way across the whole 11, we were all absolutely brilliant. Everything we’ve worked on this week, we mastered, we stifled every threat Everton had, we saw the game out brilliantly. That puts to bed the form and how the media talks us about being in the bottom three. I’d be lying if I said [England] wasn’t on my mind. It’s the World Cup, the pinnacle. Youri’s going to go for his country. I always say the same thing and it’s become a cliche, but if I focus what I do for Leicester, my performances will hopefully catch the eye of the England manager and hopefully I can force my way into his plans. But it’s out of my control.”
Youri Tielemans, standing next to Maddison, makes a pitch on his team-mate’s behalf. Maddison’s form, he tells Sky, is “really good, two more assists from him. His form and also his experience and influence is brilliant for us. He’s a creative player and once the ball is at his feet, we need people in the box because we know he can put the balls there. And if not, he can shoot from outside and inside the box, and he’s always a threat. It’s very important to have him in our team.”
Gareth?
Leicester earned their victory by scoring two fine goals, and bossing the play for the majority of the game. All of their midfielders shone: James Maddison ran the show and was named player of the match, Youri Tielemans scored a worldie, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Harvey Barnes weren’t half bad either. Their sluggish start to the season looks well behind them now. Playing as they did today, there’s surely no way they’ll get involved in a serious relegation battle. Everton by contrast were largely impotent, a couple of half-decent early chances aside. Goals remain at a premium: they’ve scored 11 in 14 matches, with only Wolves and Forest having managed fewer. It’s a problem Frank Lampard will need to fix and quicksmart.
FULL TIME: Everton 0-2 Leicester City
A few boos ring around Goodison as the whistle goes. Brendan Rodgers celebrates victory on this ground for the first time in his career … and it’s enough for his Foxes to leapfrog the hosts in the Premier League table!
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 12 | Leeds | 13 | -3 | 15 |
| 13 | Leicester | 14 | -2 | 14 |
| 14 | West Ham | 13 | -2 | 14 |
| 15 | Everton | 14 | -3 | 14 |
| 16 | AFC Bournemouth | 14 | -17 | 13 |
90 min +3: Maddison nutmegs Garner in the centre circle before sliding Barnes clear down the inside-left channel. Barnes opens his body but can’t sidefoot past Pickford.
90 min +2: Everton go nowhere.
90 min +1: The first of three extra minutes sees Leicester substitute Tielemans for Mendy.
90 min: On Sky Sports, Jamie Carragher names James Maddison as player of the match. Few would argue. He’s been superb all evening.
89 min: Gray wins a corner off Albrighton. The set piece causes a brief brouhaha in the Leicester box. Maupay tries to force home from six yards but the ball breaks to Faes who clears.
88 min: Everton probe again. Leicester continue to hold their shape.
87 min: As things stand, that goal will send Leicester above Everton in the table.
GOAL! Everton 0-2 Leicester City (Barnes 86)
Everton pass it around quite a lot. Leicester hold their shape. Coady lumps forward. Leicester clear, Doucoure gives up possession easily, then the visitors counter. Maddison skedaddles down the left, enters the box, and pulls back for Barnes who, with his back to goal, spins on the penalty spot and lashes high and hard into the top left. Pickford no chance with that one either!
Updated
84 min: Faes rises highest to meet the corner, but sends a weak downward header straight at Pickford. Both sets of fans have fallen a little quiet, anxious for different reasons.
83 min: Tielemans and Vardy shuttle the ball wide right to Albrighton, who hits a shot-cum-cross that’s deflected out for a corner. Maddison ambles across to take it, as the clock ticks on.
81 min: Gray works his way down the left and crosses deep, forcing Justin to head behind for a corner. Everton waste the set piece, Garner’s delivery no good. The ball ends up in the arms of Ward, who eats up some precious seconds by performing Pickford’s trick of ostentatiously lying down on his front. Pantomime whistles.
80 min: Maddison, quarterbacking from deep, sends a spectacular diagonal pass towards Albrighton on the right. Everton are short at the back, but Mykolenko is on hand to intercept and head back to Pickford. Mykolenko has been very good tonight. Always on point.
78 min: Dewsbury-Hall, who has been highly decent tonight, is replaced by Albrighton. Speaking of easy-on-the-eye midfielders, here’s Matt Dony: “I don’t think this is a controversial opinion, but I love Maddison. He’s a tremendous player, entertaining, creative and effective. It’s a crime that he only has one cap. If I were Southgate, I’d want to bring him to the World Cup. But, who can he leave out to make room for him? England are so ridiculously well-stocked with attacking midfielders. I’m not English, and I have no particular connection with England, but it does feel like the inherent pessimism and negativity of the average England fan is a barrier to appreciating exactly how many really, really good attacking players they have at the moment. (When it comes to central defence, however, those fans are correct.)”
76 min: Maddison and Justin combine to release Dewsbury-Hall into the Everton box down the left. He reaches the byline and wedges into the centre. Mykolenko clears with a diving header under pressure from Vardy.
75 min: Patterson and Gordon have both looked lively since coming on. They try to unlock Leicester with a one-two down the right, but the passes don’t quite stick. Justin ushers the ball out for a goal kick.
73 min: Gordon comes crunching in on Justin. The Goodison crowd enjoyed that. They don’t quite enjoy Gray shipping possession so much. Groans as Barnes springs off on the counter, reaching the edge of the Everton box before shooting weakly. Pickford saves.
71 min: Leicester make their first changes of the evening, swapping out Daka and Soumare for Vardy and Ndidi. Meanwhile Everton make their final switches, replacing Coleman and McNeil with Patterson and Gordon, the latter coming on with a slip of paper for Tarkowski. Some tactical advice, I’ll be bound.
69 min: Faes passes long down the middle. Maddison nearly brings the ball down with a telescopic leg, but can’t kill it dead, and Pickford rushes out to claim.
67 min: Ward, with the ball at his feet on the edge of the Leicester area and Iwobi bearing down, executes a marvellous Cruyff Turn to wriggle away from trouble. One for the showreel.
66 min: Some space for Gray down the right. He looks for Maupay in the middle, but the cross is poor, and an easy snaffle for Ward.
64 min: McNeil dribbles hard down the left flank and enters the box. His low cross falls to Maupay, who shoots from the left-hand corner of the six-yard box … only for Faes to arrive from nowhere and divert the shot wide left of goal. That last-ditch challenge denied Maupay the equaliser, and Ward clears the resulting corner.
63 min: Doucoure’s first act is to carelessly barge into Faes with the Leicester defender pinned near the corner flag. Pressure off. The Goodison crowd howl in agitation.
61 min: Calvert-Lewin goes down clutching his leg. He’s not going to be able to continue. His England World Cup hopes going up in smoke on Bonfire Night? He trudges off down the tunnel, head hanging sadly. Maupay comes on in his stead. Everton also switch out Onana for Doucoure.
59 min: Maddison spins past McNeil and strides down the inside-right channel. He sends a low curler towards the bottom right, past Pickford, and … off the base of the post. Goal kick. So close to number two!
58 min: Maddison bangs a long ball upfield. Daka is going to get to it first, ahead of Pickford, who has foolishly raced miles out of his box. Luckily for the Everton keeper, Mykolenko fights to get in the way of Daka, taking over possession and shepherding both ball and player away from danger. Pickford sheepishly trots back to his penalty box.
56 min: More poor work by Castagne, who ships possession to Garner just outside his own box. Garner can’t take advantage. Leicester try to break, but the ball clanks between Barnes’ feet on the edge of the Everton box and Iwobi slides in to clear. It feels like another goal is in the pipeline, but good luck correctly predicting the team to score it.
54 min: Coady lumps forward aimlessly. Castagne, with nobody around, clanks a header out for a corner. Tarkowski releases the pressure by planting his forearm on Ward’s neck. All said, not the most distinguished period of play.
53 min: Calvert-Lewin very nearly intercepts Soumare’s header back to Ward. There’s just enough juice on the ball to make it through to the keeper. Calvert-Lewin nearly sniffing out a gift.
51 min: Amartey curls a lovely ball down the right from the halfway line, releasing Daka, who gets to the ball on the edge of the box ahead of Pickford, but blooters his first-time shot miles wide and high. For a second, Evertonian hearts would have been in mouths.
49 min: Iwobi nearly fashions a chance for himself down the inside left, but the ball trundles through to Ward. This is better from Everton.
48 min: Dewsbury-Hall sashays up the left in the grand style, but tries one trick too many and is dispossessed by Gray. Everton counter, Gray and Iwobi combining down the inside-right channel, and suddenly the ball’s forced through to Calvert-Lewin in the middle. He’s clear! But he can’t thread his shot past the star-jumping Ward, and that’s a great save.
Updated
46 min: Everton are immediately on the front foot, Mykolenko’s presence down the left forcing Maddison into the concession of a corner. The ball rears up onto Tielemans chest … or is it his arm? Everton claim the latter, the referee decides (correctly) the former. Leicester break through Barnes, but nothing comes of an initially promising counter.
Everton get the second half underway. The hosts have made a change, switching out Gueye for Garner.
Half-time entertainment. There’s a World Cup coming up, and the team guides are beginning to drop. Don’t shilly shally, it’ll be here before you know it.
HALF TIME: Everton 0-1 Leicester City
Everton try to hit back immediately, McNeil winning a header ten yards out, Onana trying but failing to latch onto the dropping ball. But Leicester clear, and the whistle goes for the break. The scoreline doesn’t flatter Leicester, who have been the better team … and what a goal. A few boos as Everton, toothless in the main, trudge off.
Updated
SENSATIONAL GOAL! Everton 0-1 Leicester City (Tielemans 45)
Dewsbury-Hall sends Barnes off down the left. Barnes pulls the ball back. Some pinball. Maddison knocks the ball back towards Tielemans, teeing him up for the spectacular. Just to the right of the D, Tielemans flicks the bouncing ball up with his thigh, before sending a looping volley into the top-left corner, giving Pickford absolutely no chance. What a wonder goal! Le Tissieresque!
Updated
44 min: This being Bonfire Night, a lot of fireworks have been set off tonight. One rocket finds its way onto the field of play, and the referee stops the game so the debris can be collected. Then, seconds after the restart …
43 min: A couple of crosses from the Everton left. Mykolenko to the diving Iwobi, who clanks his header into his own man Calvert-Lewin. Then again for Calvert-Lewin, who eyebrows weakly wide.
42 min: Tarkowski dummies a ball pinged down the Leicester left. He thinks it’ll go all the way through to Pickford, but instead Daka latches onto it and has a belt from just inside the area. Pickford does well to parry.
41 min: Coleman wins a corner down the right. Onana rises highest but can’t stop his header from 12 yards sailing harmlessly over the bar.
39 min: The resulting corner’s worked long to Tielemans, who curls in from the right. Castagne can’t keep his header down at the far post.
38 min: Maddison dances across the face of the Everton box, right to left, sitting Coleman down and threading a shot towards the bottom left. A little dink off Onana, and it’s a corner. Inches wide of the post.
Updated
36 min: Iwobi nearly breaks through the middle of the Leicester defence. The ball pings towards Amartey, who instead of blootering clear, drops a shoulder and executes a cute little dragback to see off Calvert-Lewin’s press, then passes away from trouble. “Oh ho ho, Bobby Moore!” chirps Jamie Carragher on Sky co-commentary. Yep, it was as cool and smooth as that.
34 min: Iwobi steals the ball off Soumare, caught sleeping again. He hands off to Calvert-Lewin, who strides down the inside-left channel before reaching the edge of the box and taking a shot that’s blocked by Amartey. For all Leicester’s dominance, Everton have created a couple of highly decent opportunities on the break.
Updated
32 min: Barnes takes a shot that Pickford gathers without fuss. Leicester are well on top at the moment, and the Goodison faithful are getting a little irritated.
31 min: Maddison and Tielemans open Everton up down the right with a quick one-two. Maddison enters the box and shoots. The ball’s deflected miles into the air. Pickford claims, with a little help from Coady, who sticks an arm around Daka’s shoulder to stop the striker making an aerial challenge for the dropping ball. A more cynical player may have dropped to the floor, seeking a penalty, though it would have been the softest of spot kicks. But you’ve seen them given for less, and Coady was taking a gamble there.
29 min: Nothing comes of the corner. A couple of fireworks go off in the crowd. Despite the lack of goals, this match is a banger all right. Great fun.
28 min: Maddison, Dewsbury-Hall and Barnes are causing all kinds of bother. The former sets up the latter pair to take digs from the edge of the box. Both efforts are blocked. Maddison comes again, dancing down the inside-right channel and shooting, the ball deflected wide for a corner.
27 min: Maddison loops the free kick towards the far stick instead, looking for Daka. Pickford comes off his line and does enough to get the ball away from danger.
26 min: That muscle rub seems to have done Gueye the world of good, because he sticks out a strong leg to block Maddison illegally. A free kick within range for Maddison, just to the left of centre.
24 min: Gray, formerly of Leicester, goes over to take the corner from the left, and cops some pantomime boos from his old fans. He sends the ball into a crowded mixer, where Ward becomes the latest beneficiary of one of those barely-fouls that so often get flapping goalkeepers out of bother.
23 min: Iwobi takes the ball off Calvert-Lewin and races down the inside-right channel to win a corner. From the set piece, Tarkowski rises highest at the far stick and sends a powerful header towards the bottom left. Ward extends to paw around the post.
22 min: Maddison strides in from the right and lays off to Dewsbury-Hall, who shuttles further left for Barnes. The winger opens his body up and blooters a wild first-time effort miles over the bar. Meanwhile Operation Goodison Exercise comes to an efficient end.
20 min: “Stand by for Operation Goodison Exercise.” Nothing much other than the PA going on right now.
18 min: Barnes races past Coady down the left. Coady falls. Barnes prepares to tear clear, but there was a little contact and the referee gets Coady out of trouble by awarding a free kick.
16 min: Gueye is down with a muscle problem. Some form of cream or poultice is administered. He looks pained, but eventually gets back up and will play on.
14 min: Make that seven. Daka busies himself on the edge of the Everton box and lays off to Maddison. It looks like Maddison will complete a one-two, Daka peeling off into the area down the inside-right channel, but instead threads a surprise shot towards the bottom left. Inches wide. I think Pickford had it covered, but wouldn’t put too much money on it being an absolute fact. So close.
12 min: Gray cuts in from the right but can’t keep his shot down. Over the bar it sails. We could so easily have had six goals already. No hyperbole.
10 min: Maddison creams a pass down the inside-right channel that Daka scampers after. For a second, it looks as though he’ll either round the out-rushing Pickford on the right, and score, or be clattered by the keeper, earning a penalty. But Pickford puts the brakes on just in time, avoiding contact, and the slightly startled Daka clanks the ball out for a goal kick.
9 min: Iwobi turns into space down the right and very nearly releases Calvert-Lewin through the middle with a low diagonal pass. Calvert-Lewin can’t quite bring the ball under his control and it sails through to Ward.
8 min: Maddison and Daka combine down the right to release Castagne along the flank. Castagne fires low towards the near post, where Maddison, who had kept going, sidefoots wide right. The opening to this match has been preposterously open. More, please!
7 min: Dewsbury-Hall spins Coleman down the left with absurd ease. He’s got Maddison and Daka in the middle, both screaming to be teed up, but the eventual cross is no good.
6 min: Soumare dawdles on the ball just outside his own box. Gueye snaffles and feeds Calvert-Lewin, who moves the ball right to Iwobi, clear in the box! He has to score, but drags his low shot across the face of goal and out for a throw. Somewhere in the multiverse, it’s already 2-1 to Leicester.
Updated
4 min: Maddison and Dewsbury-Hall combine again, shuttling the ball up the middle of the park and feeding Daka, who attempts to thread a shot across Pickford and into the bottom right. He doesn’t really catch it, and it’s an easy claim for the keeper. Some early warning signs for Everton, though.
2 min: That’s found the Leicester fans in good voice, while most of Goodison descends into a nervous crackle. It may well be that Leicester have decided attack is the best form of defence.
Leicester get the ball rolling. They’ll be kicking towards the Gwladys Street End in this first half … and nearly take the lead within 18 seconds! Dewsbury-Hall drives down the left, and finds Maddison just inside the box. Maddison immediately flicks on for Daka, free six yards out, but unable to extend his leg far enough to poke home. What a start that would have been!
The teams are out! Everton in royal blue, Leicester in second-choice black. The comforting sound of Z-Cars. Poppy wreaths are ceremoniously laid in the centre circle in remembrance of the fallen. Applause, the Last Post, and a period of silence and reflection. We’ll be off in a couple of minutes.
Brendan Rodgers is up … and after reporting that Caglar Soyuncu has a hamstring problem, and offering congratulations to Dennis Praet, back home with his wife, who gave birth last night, thoughts turn to the game. “When you come here you have to be competitive. The last few years we’ve done that, been physical and played some really good football, and taken our chances. We need to play our game, press as often as we can, and give our movement patterns going to create opportunities.”
Frank Lampard, whose programme notes today are headlined “How Could You Not Fall For This Place?”, explains his emotional outpouring to Sky Sports. “I think I’ve said that a fair bit. It’s more the break in the season, we won’t be here again until Boxing Day, and we’ve had a lot of support, some amazing welcomes. The fans are really behind the club and the team, and myself, and it means a lot. When we get together we can do really serious things. That’s why we’ve been strong at Goodison, and it’s important we go forward with that.”
The 3pm results are in!
Nottingham Forest needed an injury-time goal to salvage a point at home to Brentford, while Wolverhampton Wanderers were beaten 3-2 at home by Brighton. Meanwhile Leeds pipped Bournemouth 4-3 in a thriller, while Manchester City left it extremely late to see off Fulham, Erling Haaland slotting an injury-time penalty not so much past Bernd Leno as through him. A window of opportunity for Arsenal slams unceremoniously shut. The Premier League table now looks like it does below, and it’s not good reading for clubs from ATVLand (aka the midlands, aka home of Star Soccer).
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 13 | 27 | 32 |
| 2 | Arsenal | 12 | 19 | 31 |
| 3 | Tottenham Hotspur | 13 | 10 | 26 |
| 4 | Newcastle | 13 | 14 | 24 |
| 5 | Man Utd | 12 | 1 | 23 |
| 6 | Brighton | 13 | 5 | 21 |
| 7 | Chelsea | 12 | 2 | 21 |
| 8 | Fulham | 14 | -1 | 19 |
| 9 | Liverpool | 12 | 8 | 16 |
| 10 | Brentford | 14 | -3 | 16 |
| 11 | Crystal Palace | 12 | -3 | 16 |
| 12 | Leeds | 13 | -3 | 15 |
| 13 | Everton | 13 | -1 | 14 |
| 14 | West Ham | 13 | -2 | 14 |
| 15 | AFC Bournemouth | 14 | -17 | 13 |
| 16 | Aston Villa | 13 | -9 | 12 |
| 17 | Southampton | 13 | -9 | 12 |
| 18 | Leicester | 13 | -4 | 11 |
| 19 | Wolverhampton | 14 | -14 | 10 |
| 20 | Nottm Forest | 14 | -20 | 10 |
Everton make one change to the XI selected to start the goalless draw at Fulham last weekend. Dwight McNeil takes the place of Anthony Gordon, who drops to the bench.
Leicester make two changes to the side named for the 1-0 home loss to Manchester City. Patson Daka replaces Jamie Vardy, who drops to the bench, while Boubakary Soumare comes in for Caglar Soyuncu, the Turkey defender missing from the squad altogether.
The teams
Everton: Pickford, Coleman, Coady, Tarkowski, Mykolenko, Onana, Gueye, Iwobi, McNeil, Calvert-Lewin, Gray.
Subs: Patterson, Holgate, Keane, Gordon, Begovic, Doucoure, Maupay, Davies, Garner.
Leicester City: Ward, Castagne, Amartey, Faes, Justin, Soumare, Maddison, Tielemans, Dewsbury-Hall, Barnes, Daka.
Subs: Vardy, Albrighton, Iheanacho, Perez, Vestergaard, Mendy, Ndidi, Iversen, Thomas.
Referee: David Coote (Nottinghamshire).
Preamble
On 28 December 1986, Everton welcomed Leicester City to Goodison Park and set about whipping them 5-1. Adrian Heath, Paul Wilkinson and Kevin Sheedy all found the net, Steve Moran grabbed a consolation for the visitors, Everton went on to win the league, and Leicester were relegated.
Different times, not only because on this same arbitrarily selected day in history, Charlton Athletic beat Manchester City 6-0. Thing is, if you told anyone at the end of this season that, over the following 35 years, nine-time champions Everton would win just a solitary FA Cup, while the Foxes (at that point with just one League Cup on their roll of honour) would go on to win two more League Cups, their first FA Cup, and a maiden English title, you’d have been patted vigorously on the head and told to wait outside the pub for the grown-ups to finish their pints.
All of which is an unnecessarily long-winded way of saying: welcome to a fixture between one of the most underachieving clubs of modern times, and one of the biggest overachievers. No answers on a postcard, no prizes. But things are slowly beginning to turn around, as Frank Lampard’s side slowly emerge from the near-fatal wreckage of last season, Everton heading in the right direction for the first time in a wee while. Leicester meanwhile are in the bottom three, struggling in the old-school style, a wringer they haven’t been put through for several years. Will the Lampardian revolution continue apace? Can Leicester clamber out of the relegation places? Kick-off is at 5.30pm GMT. It’s on!
