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Liverpool Echo
Liverpool Echo
Sport
Joe Thomas & Adam Jones

Yerry Mina fumes at Arsenal as Dele Alli booed in Everton defeat

Everton's first pre-season game started with the US national anthem, an overhead fly-past and fireworks.

The players, just like at Goodison Park, entered the pitch to Z Cars but, unlike in L4, did so in Baltimore through a smoke-filled tunnel. While the Blues were second best to an Arsenal squad further along in their pre-season preparation, there was plenty of action - and interest - throughout the 90 minutes.

Beyond the highlights, here are a few moments you may have missed from the action on the eastern coast of the USA.

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Scoreboard prediction

They tend to love high-scoring matches in American sports, and clearly they were expecting the same from Everton's clash with Arsenal. The Blues were kicking off their pre-season preparations with a trip to the M&T Bank Stadium, usually home of the NFL side the Baltimore Ravens. In that sport, it would be quite rare to see a game finish in single digits for both teams.

But while the huge screens inside the ground were being tested before the match on Saturday evening, they clearly thought the following 90 minutes were going to be much more exciting than they actually were. In fact, they predicted quite a bizarre first half if truth be told. Not only did the scoreboard display a score of 5-4 to Everton at one point, as shown by club photographer Tony McArdle's images from the stadium, but it also believed that the first half was going to be over 80 minutes long. Well it would have made for an interesting game, we'll give it that.

Even in the US, Dele Alli gets hate from Arsenal supporters

During the final game of last season against Arsenal, at the Emirates, Dele Alli was the focus of huge amounts of attention from the home crowd.

His history with Tottenham Hotspur repeatedly led to him being booed during the game in May - and that was the same on the other side of the Atlantic, with Alli targeted again and again by the vocal Arsenal support.

Pickford statement

Jordan Pickford was back between the posts for Everton after a well-deserved summer break, and maybe he looked a little bit rusty as you might expect. His distribution, in particular, was slightly off throughout his half of football, but no doubt that will improve as the summer goes on. Of genuine significance on Saturday night was that he wearing the captain's armband.

This is something a growing section of Everton fans have been calling for over recent weeks and months as they have noticed the clear progression the England No.1 has made. And not just in terms of his displays, but with his leadership qualities, too.

Pickford has never been shy of voicing his opinions to those in front of him but toward the end of last season, when times were tough, those shouts became a lot more focused and encouraging. Alongside that were the performances of someone desperate to drag his team kicking and screaming to safety, putting his body on the line for his team-mates and never shying away from a challenge. If they are not leadership qualities, then what are? Pickford was given his reward for this match, and it will be very interesting if he keeps the title going into the opening match of the campaign if Seamus Coleman is indeed ruled out with injury.

Fan feeds showcased throughout the match

The stadium had huge screens showing the match - and replays - embedded within the stands behind each goal. Above the corners of the ground lay further screens which, throughout the contest, displayed the social media activity of Arsenal and Everton fans, and the work published by the club's official accounts.

It was quite a peculiar sight to look up midway through a half and see a supporter beaming down on the action - or to be watching footage of Leon Osman throwing an NFL ball.

Handbags, handbags, handbags

There appeared to be some genuine needle in this pre-season friendly. From the opening minutes there were a number of late tackles and several skirmishes between Arsenal and Everton players. Yerry Mina became embroiled in squabbles with, first, Gabriel Jesus, then Gabriel - the second incident as the players waited for the corner Arsenal scored the opener from.

Pickford, captain until he was substituted along with every other player at half-time, had to tell Mina to calm down amid his interaction with Gabriel. Gabriel was also involved in a pushing match with Abdoulaye Doucoure after Doucoure gave away a foul on Granit Xhaka, while James Tarkowski later used his strength in defence of Stanley Mills.

Confusing graphic

Those watching a stream from home in the early hours of the morning might have been a little surprised by a few of the things they saw. Not least by a pretty confusing formation graphic for the Blues. The feed was clearly taken from an American broadcaster for this match, with Everton repurposing it with the voices of Darren Griffiths and Osman on commentary. However, the graphics that were used throughout were straight from the original broadcaster.

And so, when showing off the Blues' starting line-up, the players were certainly not lined up correctly. Not unless Frank Lampard was intent on pioneering a new 2-1-2-2-1-2 formation at the very least. Thank goodness that wasn't the way Everton eventually did set up when the match got underway.

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