Match Report

At the halfway point of this mostly entertaining, sometimes nerve-wracking match, Evertonians could have been forgiven for scratching their heads and wondering where this team was four days ago when they embarrassed themselves against Newcastle for the second time this season.

Perhaps it was the nature of the opposition, Marcelo Bielsa's expansive, fleet-footed and often irrepressible outfit, or an expression of the “bounce-back-ability” of Carlo Ancelotti's men who have not, that dismal run of three defeats in October aside, lost consecutive Premier League matches since the wily Italian took over in December 2019, but this was “night and day” from the fare served up against the Barcodes at the weekend.

2-0 up and flying at half-time, they managed to shoot themselves in the foot somewhat less than three minutes into the second half but then gutted it out to the final whistle behind some impressive individual performances to move back into the top six. Even accounting for the two games in hand they have over some of the teams above them, Blues fans will be much more circumspect about talk of a renewed tilt at the top four with performances like Saturday's still in mind, but they will have a good deal more pride in their team this evening following what was Everton's fourth successive away win.

It was to Ancelotti's credit that the Toffees were set up well for the kind of contest that unfolded, one for which James Rodriguez wasn't even needed. After three games in less than seven days, the Colombian was given a break by being named on the bench this evening and though new signing Josh King was thrown on to provide some attacking legs in the last few minutes, James was afforded the night off.

The line-up named in his absence proved well-suited to the kind of intense pressing and hard-running that was required against Leeds and it has to be said that the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson and André Gomes, so often lightning rods for criticism, shone in what was a very good team performance overall and gave their best displays for a long while.

Both were involved in the opening goal, the Portuguese starting the simple but beautiful move and the Icelander finishing it, but they also stood out for their industry, intelligent use of the ball and their accomplished play. That they were eclipsed to a degree by Abdoulaye Doucouré merely underscores how good the Frenchman was covering every blade of grass in the midfield and, had not been for Dominic Calvert-Lewin's profligacy late on, he would have had an assist to go with an outstanding personal performance.

Doucouré was run very close for man of the match by Ben Godfrey who excelled on what was, remarkably, his first League outing in his favoured centre-half role since joining Everton last October. Selected ahead of Michael Keane, no doubt because Ancelotti saw his mobility and electric pace as important attributes against the likes of Rodrigo and Raphinha, the 23-year-old underlined what a superb piece of business Marcel Brands pulled off when he signed him from Norwich City.

Played at a frenetic pace on a newly relaid pitch that was reminiscent of an ice rink at times and where a critical mistake seemed only a moment away, the first half began with Leeds having the first the first chance of the game before a minute had elapsed. Godfrey blocked Raphinha's effort from the angle but it was Everton who scored first seven minutes later.

Jack Harrison's slip as he attempted an ambitious ball to the flank was intercepted by Richarlison and Gomes arced an excellent ball down the left that was collected by Lucas Digne. Despite being shepherded towards the touchline by Raphinha, the Frenchman cut a dangerous cross into the centre of the area where Sigurdsson arrived to side-foot coolly past Illan Meslier.

It was the perfect start that promised to get better a couple of minutes later when the ball ricocheted back to Calvert-Lewin but his left-foot shot from 20 yards out was tame and easily saved.

Ever dangerous, Leeds began testing Robin Olsen at the other end when Mateusz Klich tried to curl one in and the Swede comfortably pushed the ball behind but it was from another corner in the 19th minute that the home side came as close as they would to scoring in the first half. Ezgjan Alioski rattled a volley off the post from a corner. Raphinha drifted his delivery to the top of the box which Ezgjan Alioski connected with sweetly and rattled a volley off bottom of the post.

Six minutes after that Pascal Struijk met Calvin Phillips's free-kick and Olsen turned it over the crossbar with a one-handed save while at the other end, Calvert-Lewin raced away on the counter-attack with Richarlison bursting up-field alongside him but the Englishman ignored the Brazilian and went for glory, scuffing a terrible shot well wide to Ancelotti's visible annoyance.

Calvert-Lewin got his first goal in seven Premier League games four minutes before half-time, though, after winning Everton's first corner of the match. Sigurdsson swung in the set-piece, Godfrey helped it on with his head and Calvert-Lewin was there at the back post to head into the empty side of the goal to make it 2-0.

The Blues' advantage was cut in half early in the second half, though, and it was a lapse that changed the complexion of the contest. Yerry Mina and Mason Holgate hesitated over who should claim an awkward ball into the box, the latter failed to clear and Patrick Bamford knocked it aside for Raphinha to stroke the ball into the far corner.

Long spells of anticipated Leeds pressure followed and after the match officials missed a handball by Ayling in the Leeds box, Bielsa's side thought they had made the breakthrough just past the hour mark but were kept out by a treble save from Olsen, whose assured presence made a very strong case for keeping the first-choice goalkeeper spot with him going forward.

Although the situation was of his own making when he played Doucouré into trouble with an ill-advised pass, he got down well to make a strong one-handed stop to deny Klich's deflected shot, parried a follow-up from Harrison and then saved crucially from Raphinha with his feet before the ball was smuggled away. Leeds kept it when Gomes lost his footing trying to play his way up the touchline and when Raphinha crossed and Harrison half-volleyed goal-wards, Olsen beat his effort away as well.

Richarlison, playing with a good deal more confidence and effectiveness than he has shown in a while, had one trademark run and shot but his finish was a bit wild before Bamford had Everton hearts in mouths when he looped a header back across goal but the ball dropped onto the top of the crossbar rather than under the bar.

Now signalling that he wanted to close the game out, Ancelotti replaced the rather sullen Richarlison with Keane with 10 minutes to go but then introduced Josh King for Alex Iwobi and then Tom Davies for Sigurdsson with a minute to go.

Meanwhile, Leeds continued to pile on the pressure and Mina seemed determined to gift them a number of set-piece opportunities with clumsy and needless fouls in the closing stages just so that he could almost single-handedly mop them up by making more headed clearances in his own box as any Everton players has managed for three seasons.

The result was just two chances for Bielsa's team in stoppage time, one Luke Ayling shot that was blocked behind by Keane and Bamford's inviting ball across the Everton area for Tyler Roberts that the substitute lashed high over Olsen's crossbar.

Just before that, Calvert-Lewin had had a great opportunity to kill the contest when Doucouré stepped forward to intercept a pass and powered forward as Everton broke three-on-two and then played the striker in but he made it easy for the on-rushing Meslier and shot weakly at his feet.

In the final reckoning, it wasn't a costly miss and Everton held on to claim what is, even in the context of a strange season with no fans in stadia, a remarkable fourth successive win away from home and a result and performance and bode well for the next game which is also on the road, this time at Old Trafford.

Victory there against a team chasing their neighbours for the Premier League title really would change the dynamic of Everton's season once more, just when it looked as though those five points dropped against Leicester and Newcastle had condemned them to a fight for sixth or seventh place.

That may still end up being their lot but with results continuing to be unpredictable, if Ancelotti can coax some consistency out of his team at Goodison Park and spring some surprises at United and Liverpool this month, the Blues could well be in the conversation for the Champions League slots come the end of the season, despite their current erraticism.

Lyndon Lloyd

Matchday Updates

Everton held on through a second-half onslaught from Leeds after going into what should have been a commanding 2-goal lead in the first half.

New signing Josh King is apparently available and sits on the bench, despite other suggestions that he had not been registered in time for this game.

Fabian Delph is finally fit again after been out for almost two months with a hamstring injury.

He will be available for selection against his old club but Allan remains sidelined, as does Jean-Philippe Gbamin. Bernard, whose move to Al Nasr fell through on deadline day, will also be in the squad after being left out against Newcastle in preparation for a possible move to the UAE.

Robin Olsen started in goal after Jordan Pickford picked up a rib injury in training this week.

From the kick-off, a quick Leeds throw-in, Raphina almost caught out Digne and led to an early corner that was cleared by the slowly waking Everton team.

The first time Everton really got any possession and Calvert-Lewin was too keen to lay it off with a misplaced pass.

With not much happening, Gomes played a lovely ball out to Digne who conjured an excellent cross that saw Gylfi Sigsursson play like a center-forward, running in to slot home with consummate ease. What a goal!

Everton surged forward again and Calvert-Lewin worked his way in to a fantastic chance to double the score but he decided on a lame shot that totally lacked any conviction, desire or intent to score.

A much stronger shot at the other end forced a decent save from Olsen that led to a couple more Leeds corners.

Holgate overlapped down the right and was fouled by Harrison who was shown yellow but Everton did nothing with the free-kick, which led to a decent Leeds attack but Olsen saw a header fly high over his bar.

Leeds won another corner, leading to a fantastic strike from Alioski that was covered well by Olsen but hit the outside of the post. Leeds were applying some pressure but Godfrey and the Everton defence were standing firm.

A free-kick for Leeds was glanced up, deflected off Calvert-Lewin and needed Olsen to tip it over his bar. Everton then attacked strongly on the back of a great run from Godfrey, Sigurdsson firing goalwards but too close to Meslier.

Everton looked to structure a really threatening attack but Richarlison had strayed a yard offside in a very fluid move. The game was a lively end-to-end affair, Doucouré almost setting up Calvert-Lewin, who needs to be much stronger in commanding the ball.

Good work by Iwobi set up Calvert-Lewin for another great chance that he fired well wide of the Leeds goal. Holgate got forward well but crossed straight to Meslier.

A good Sigurdsson corner came off Godfrey's shoulder at a perfect height for Calvert-Lewin flying in at the far post to convert with his head for his first Premier League goal in almost 2 months.

A nice piece of ball skill by Sigurdsson drew a free-kick that was cleared to Iwobi but his volley was well off target. So ended a lively half with Everton firmly ahead but Leeds always looking to attack.

Everton couldn't really cope with the energy Leeds showed from the restart and Raphinha powered a lose clearance under Olsen to get them right back into the game.

Leeds continued to swarm forward, Everton struggling to cope and unable to retain possession, with Leeds players lining up, Mina fouling Alioski.

After 10 minutes, some respite with a free-kick for Everton that almost fell to Calvert-Lewin. The ball in struck a defender's arm for what is usually a cast-iron penalty... it would favour Everton.

Leeds attacked ferociously, and in an amazing flurry of chances, Olsen came up big at least three times to deny Leeds their equalizer. But unless Everton retook control, it seemed that would inevitably come.

Leeds worked another nice play that saw Bamford place a looping header onto the top of the bar. Everton got some rare possession and play it back to Olsen. Doucoure did well to win the ball and provide it for Calvert-Lewin who was far too easily denied.

Calvert-Lewin did well to play forward but lacks the skills needed to beat a keeper from a narrow angle.

Josh King came on for the last few minutes to make his debut as Everton struggled to hold on for the win, Mina committing a foul that set up a free-kick which he then headed away brilliantly to set up a great break and a golden opportunity for Calvert-Lewin. What does he do with it? An atrocious attempt to pass it into the goal, making it easy for the keeper to stop, when he had time and pace to go around him.

Into 5 minutes of added time and another determined Leeds attack that saw corners and throw-ins as they continued to fight and Everton sought to defend everything that was thrown at them to secure a famous and very rare win at Elland Road.

Scorers: Raphinha (48'); Calvert-Lewin (9'), Sigurdsson (42')

Leeds Utd: Meslier, Ayling [Y], Cooper, Struijk, Alioski, Phillips, Raphinha, Dallas, Klich (69' Roberts), Harrison [Y:17'] (87' Costa), Bamford.
Subs not Used: Casilla, Hernandez, Davis, Cresswell, Shackleton, Jenkins, Huggins.

Everton: Olsen [Y], Holgate [Y], Mina, Godfrey [Y], Digne, Doucouré, Gomes, Sigurdsson (89' Davies), Iwobi (87' King) , Richarlison (80' Keane), Calvert-Lewin.
Subs not Used: Virginia, Delph, Nkounkou, James, Bernard, Coleman.

Referee: Michael Oliver
VAR: Chris Kavanagh

Michael Kenrick

Match Preview

Everton travel to Leeds on Wednesday evening looking to get their faltering charge for Europe back on track having dropped five of six points available in their last two games.

The 1-1 draw with Leicester a week ago and Saturday's horrendous 2-0 defeat to Newcastle at Goodison Park have set back significantly hopes that the Toffees might sneak into the top four this season.

They come into the game sitting in eighth place, six points off the Champions League places, albeit with two games in hand, but their recent form has left manager Carlo Ancelotti philosophical about his team's prospects of springing a surprise this season in that regard.

He was critical of his players's attitude against the Magpies and reiterated that stance in his pre-match press conference.

“We lost a great opportunity to move up in the table. Now it's beyond us,” Ancelotti confessed in reference to the top four. “It is still a dream for us but the game against Leicester gave us an answer and Newcastle gave us another answer. To fight for fourth position we have to improve. [Those two games] showed the other [side] to our team.

“Spirit is not a light switch you can switch on and off. We talked about this and the players understood because they had experience in the past where beforehand we were a little bit worried. That is what happened [against Newcastle].”

With the winter transfer window out the way, Ancelotti and his men can refocus their efforts on rediscovering some consistency and trying to make up ground again at the top of the table.

The trip to Elland Road will come too early for new signing Josh King (Update: This information was incorrect) whose arrival from Bournemouth was sealed in the early hours of Tuesday evening but Ancelotti welcomed his arrival on a six-month contract, saying:

“Josh King is the right profile that we needed. We were looking at him in the summer and his qualities will improve our squad because he can cover all the positions in front. He has experience in the Premier League so we're happy to have him in the squad.

“I think [he, Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Richarlison] can play all together because we are used to playing with [Alex] Iwobi on the right and with James [Rodriguez] so the fact that he can cover all the positions up front is helpful to us.

“The squad is quite complete at this moment and I'm satisfied with [it].”

The manager's options have been augmented for the match against Leeds by the return to fitness of Fabian Delph who has been out for almost two months with a hamstring injury.

He will be available for selection against his old club but Allan remains sidelined, as does Jean-Philippe Gbamin. Bernard, whose move to Al Nasr fell through on deadline day, will also be in the squad after being left out against Newcastle in preparation for a possible move to the UAE.

Robin Olsen will start in goal after Jordan Pickford picked up a rib injury in training this week and their could be further changes to the back line in the wake of the Newcastle defeat where Ancelotti could revert back to deploying Mason Holgate and Ben Godfrey as full-backs and pushing Lucas Digne forward into a left-midfield role.

For their part, Leeds finished January in much the same erratic mode that has characterised so much of their first season back in the top flight since 2004. Having made a flying start to the campaign looking capable of fighting it out in the top six, they have fallen away recently having won five and lost five in the League since their 1-0 triumph at Goodison Park at the end of November.

Back-to-back defeats to Tottenham and strugglers Brighton appeared to suggest that the fire was going out in Marcelo Bielsa's side but a 2-1 triumph at Newcastle and a 3-1 win at Leicester last Sunday illustrated that they can't be written off in terms of the European picture.

The Argentine will be without influential attacking midfielder Rodrigo and has further doubts over Raphinha, the match-winner at Goodison, and top scorer Patrick Bamford.

If Everton can remain focused defensively and catch Leeds on an off day, this could play out like some of the Blues' recent away games where they have grabbed an all-important goal and been able to hold on to secure three vital points.

A win would go a long way to restoring confidence in the side before the weekend trip to Old Trafford and could, depending on results elsewhere, vault them back into the top five.

Kick-off: 7:30pm, Wednesday 3 February 2021 on BT Sport 3
Referee: Michael Oliver
VAR: Chris Kavanagh
Last Time: Leeds United 1 - 1 Everton (13 April, 2004)

Predicted Line-up: Olsen, Holgate, Keane, Mina, Godfrey, Davies, Doucouré, Digne, Rodriguez, Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin

Lyndon Lloyd

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