An Illiman Ndiaye Penalty is the Difference on the Day as David Moyes and Everton win their Second Straight League Match.
Everton were back in league action on Saturday, traveling away to Brighton & Hove Albion. The seagulls put the three past the toffees in the reverse fixture at Goodison Park that saw the hosts played well off the pitch.
Moyes continued with his change in lineup following the success against Tottenham Hotspur last match. Jake O’Briend kept his spot on the backline ahead of Ashley Young, while windstorm and Ndiaye kept their spots on the wing behind the front man Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
The match started with plenty of Brighton possession, but the blues seemed pretty comfortable in defense early on. The first moment of significance came in the 13th minute, as Calvert-Lewin was dragged off with what looked like a decently nasty hamstring injury. Beto was put on as the club’s only remaining fit striker. Brighton continued to enjoy the majority of possession, but it must be noted that O’Brien looked extremely impressive next to a resolute center back pairing of Tarkowski and Branthwaite. Mykolenko continued to enjoy the new backline as well, playing cooly at left-back.
Everton began to take more control in the match around the half hour mark, and caught a huge break in the 37th minute. Beto chased a a loose ball up against Veltman, and under pressure the Brighton defender fell down and handled the ball. A clear handball, VAR eventually awarded the penalty. Ndiaye stepped up and struck a cool and calm penalty into the bottom left-hand corner, beating Verbruggen in goal despite the keeper guessing the correct direction. The penalty was the difference between the sides in the first half, and a resolute Everton went into the halftime break up 0-1.
The first 15 minutes of the second half were all Brighton, with Everton being forced to soak up pressure. Mitoma curled a dangerous effort just wide of the post in the 50th minute that sent warning signals to the backline. Nine minutes later, Joao Pedro got in a great position and fired from close range, the ball was deflected and Pickford had to exercise great care in tipping the ball over the bar.
Everton brought on Nathan Patterson for Lindstrom in the 62nd minute, and then Ashley Young and James Garner (marking his first appearance for a long time due to injury) for Ndiaye and Doucoure in the 78th minute as pressure continued to mount from the hosts. The last 20 minutes were nerve wracking to say the least for the blues, with Brighton pressure coming from all directions. However, the Everton backline coped brilliantly, and Idrissa Gueye put in a 2o minute shift as impressive as you will see from a defensive midfielder all season.
The result? Another massive three points and a frustrated Brighton side kicking off at the toffees at full time. Among the notables, Asmir Begovic was front and center among his fellow teammates. A satisfying if not dogged three points to be certain, and another huge feather in the cap for David Moyes who admitted post match that the win means more because it was Everton, managing his 700th Premier League match.
With injuries to Mangala and Calvert-Lewin, Everton will need to be even more diligent in the transfer window. A huge match looms right on the closing of the window against Leicester City at Goodison Park, with a chance to shut down any talks of relegation once and for all.
UTFT!
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