Everton discover new creative force as two-year wait finally ends

Analysis from Chris Beesley after Everton's clash with Crystal Palace in the Premier League on Saturday

Everton tactical gamble pays off as surprise new creative force emerges

Bookmark

Everton finally have a win in the Premier League. The Blues recovered from a Marc Guehi goal in the first period to beat Crystal Palace 2-1, with Dwight McNeil grabbing a brace after the break.

Sean Dyche's side had only taken one point from their previous five games, so the relief on show at full time was no surprise.

Chris Beesley was in attendance at Goodison Park and has picked out some of the main talking points from the contest from a Blues perspective.

Two swipes of the paintbrush

This is the historic final season for Goodison Park but after being denied a day in the sun against Bournemouth with the dramatic late collapse, it took a couple of swipes from ‘The Paintbrush’ to finally get The Grand Old Lady up on her feet for the last dance. Dwight McNeil might not be Kevin Sheedy, or even a James Rodriguez for that matter, but his educated left peg remains a source of inspiration for an Everton side that possesses more artisans than artists.

Despite having operated as a winger for most of his career so far – including under Sean Dyche at Burnley where he was given his big breakthrough – the 24-year-old believes his move into the middle the season, being deployed as a ‘number 10’, can increase his influence. After netting his first of the season at Aston Villa, the Rochdale-born player told the ECHO: “I feel I can impact games more and show more of what I’m about.”

That certainly was the case here as, after what had been a lacklustre and lethargic display from Everton in the first 45 minutes, McNeil two moments of magic saved the bacon of the gaffer who had had given him his senior bow. While the first was a blockbuster from distance, the devil was in the detail for the second as he waited for what seemed like a relative age to pick his spot perfectly to meet substitute Jack Harrison’s right wing cross.

The Carlisle Kaiser

As a centre-back who made 431 appearances in the competition, former Everton defender Richard Dunne hit the nail on the head when speaking to the ECHO earlier this month about Jarrad Branthwaite’s injury absence by observing: “A player who is being talked about as an £80million centre-back is someone who any team in the Premier League would miss.” Manchester United might not realise just how valuable the England international is but if any Evertonian was actually still in any doubt before this game then they certainly won’t be now.

Having man mountain Branthwaite at the back last term in a campaign in which he proved to be Everton’s breakthrough star, ensured only runners-up Arsenal kept more clean sheets. He couldn’t deliver a first one this season on this occasion, but after a few early jitters for player and team alike, the 22-year-old grew imperiously into this contest, to produce the kind of dominant display that became his calling card throughout 2023/24.

As well as offering the premium of being left-sided, Branthwaite showed just why he is valued so highly as he proved to be a colossus when it came to aerial duels while also reading the game like a seasoned veteran with a series of timely interceptions. Here is a Rolls-Royce of a defender who also benefits from being an immense physical specimen... all hail the Carlisle Kaiser!

Forever Young

Dyche namechecked Ashley Young’s resilience – both mental and physical but particularly the former, when it came to bouncing back from being questioned. Everton’s oldest ever outfield player, who was a team-mate of his now Goodison gaffer as a teenager at Watford, proved his versatility again as he reverted from left-back to right-back and stuck to his task for another 90 plus minutes.

Not only that, the evergreen utility man also delivered a second assist in as many games as having exchanged passes with Iliman Ndiaye to fashion his first Premier League goal at Leicester City seven days earlier, he provided the ball that picked out McNeil for his equaliser –not bad going at all for a 39-year-old defender. Young isn’t the only member of the squad to have come under scrutiny of late though and after being dropped to the bench at the King Power Stadium – following a week in which he’d suffered illness – Jack Harrison also bounced back here.

Jesper Lindstrom appears the more dynamic of Everton’s two right wing options at the moment but by his manager’s own admission, the Danish international is still very much finding his feet in the Premier League. You know that Harrison is going to put in the hard yards that the Blues boss demands, but here we also saw the flash of inspiration as well as perspiration required from wide men.

Comeback kings

In one fell swoop, Dyche has now removed two monkeys off his back to cap a much-needed week of positivity at Everton. Despite unwavering support from those above him among Goodison Park’s corridors of power – with director of football Kevin Thelwell coming out and backing him after a second consecutive 3-2 loss after leading 2-0 – you wonder just where another defeat here would have actually left the 53-year-old when it came to his position.

Thankfully such fears are now a moot point because the Blues boss has recorded a long overdue first Premier League win of the season and like a year ago, it came at the sixth time of asking. With Dyche having alleviated that pressure – for another week at least – and in the short term, his hand actually nominally looking to have been strengthened by the takeover deal with Farhad Moshiri, the owner who went through eight managers in as many years, surely allowing the status quo to remain in place until it’s time for Dan Friedkin to make a judgement call.

What might prove more important in the long term is Everton recovering from a losing position to win a Premier League game under Dyche. The former Burnley boss is now the longest-serving gaffer under Moshiri but that failure to secure three points having gone behind was something that Marco Silva could never achieve throughout his 18-month Goodison Park tenure.

The last time Everton won 2-1 in the Premier League after conceding first was at Southampton under Frank Lampard on October 1, 2022. However, this was the first time that the Blues had recovered from a losing position on home turf to triumph in the Premier League since that night against Crystal Palace 28 months ago when they came from 2-0 down to retain their top flight status.

Story Saved
You can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.