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Liverpool Echo

Sport

Joe Thomas

Frank Lampard sent Vitalii Mykolenko dressing room message to reignite Everton creativity

Frank Lampard Vitalii Mykolenko Everton Myko Demarai Gray Palace Crystal Palace Anthony Gordon Amadou Onana Dominic CalvertLewin

Of the many stand out performances in Everton's win over Crystal Palace, Vitalii Mykolenko's was among those that left Frank Lampard particularly pleased.

The left back's role in what was such an important victory for the Blues was crucial - and something that was no fluke. Calling for patience in his project ahead of the game and following three consecutive defeats, Lampard picked out Mykolenko as a player he felt could be key to solving the creative struggle that had seen his side fail to muster an effort on target in more than 180 minutes.

Indeed, Lampard spoke with the Ukraine international on Friday, urging him to be more adventurous. "I told him to run", Lampard later explained. Mykolenko's response was immediate, and it made a difference best shown in his part in Everton's second goal, but which was evident over the full 90 minutes.

Mykolenko's performance against Palace was his most aggressive since he scored in the crucial win at Leicester City last season. The 23-year-old had been solid this season but posed little attacking threat - something Lampard suggested was partly down to the approach of Demarai Gray and Anthony Gordon. Both had spent so long fighting in a counter attacking team, in which they were asked to run with the ball from deep, they were becoming too detached from their full backs in the final third.

This was something Lampard was trying to change. Asked how he hoped to inspire Everton to be more creative, Lampard namechecked Mykolenko as he said on Friday: "I came into a counter attacking team, that was the style of the previous manager and in effect we had to finish the season that way because it felt the most secure way to defend deeper. The players are used to travelling with the ball at pace which means it is very difficult to get a full back to overlap at pace because they are not in position to, and can’t keep up in basic terms. That is why I liked our West Ham performance [which Everton won 1-0] because we handled possession and had many more overlaps, which gave our wingers a chance. Any winger in the modern game, with how teams defend, if you try and beat people all the time then you are trying to beat 1-2-3 men which is difficult. It is a team thing on that front with full backs who can join in. We have lost [Nathan] Patterson recently and he was really effective at that earlier in the season. [Vitalii] Mykolenko can improve and he knows that because he has the attributes to do so, and then the wingers themselves we can work on them consistently so they are delivering from wide areas but also arriving in the box to score goals now."

Lampard spoke with Mykolenko on the eve of the Palace game and found an immediate response. The full back overlapped Gray three times in the first 10 minutes, even making his way into the box for one early attack. His support in the final third was key as he provided an outlet for his team and an option for Gray, Alex Iwobi and Amadou Onana to feed. His most notable contribution came on the hour in his lung-busting run to support the counter attack that led to the crucial second goal. Mykolenko, given additional freedom by Seamus Coleman playing more defensively on the right, operating almost as a third centre back at times while he nullified the threat of Wilfried Zaha, charged the length of the pitch to be the spare man as Everton carved through Palace. Fed by Onana he had time and space to take a touch and shoot - watching as Vicente Guaita could only palm his shot into the path of Gordon.

For his part, Lampard was thrilled at the performance of the former Dynamo Kyiv star. Detailing his conversations with Mykolenko in the build up to the game, he said: "I told him to run. I spoke with him [on Friday]. I think we started the season with a back three and we were without a striker. Then we changed and Patterson was in the team and being the more aggressive of our full-backs. Now Coleman has come in I just felt the balance of the team [worked] to have Myko really getting forward, and [have been] trying to tell him and help him - I was quite pleased he was on my side in the first half because I could really effect him, which affected Demarai's position which got us more bodies up the pitch. I was delighted with the way that worked and it made us look more of a threat."

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