Everton were the hosts for French side LOSC Lille in their final pre-season friendly ahead of our first Premier League match against Crystal Palace. Supporters had their first chance to see the changes at the Hill Dickinson Stadium as manager David Moyes looked to build momentum following a strong 3-1 victory over Newcastle United in midweek.
Team News
Understandably, a strong team for the final warmup. Jordan Pickford was back after only joining the team on Thursday. Harrison Armstrong made his sixth start
of the preseason along with Hayden Hackney in the middle. Tyler Dibling started on the right side and Thierno Barry was in ahead of Beto. James Garner and Tim Iroegbunam were injured, but there was still no place in the squad Christian Norgaard, who has yet to play since his arrival from Arsenal. New arrival Brennan Johnson was on the bench.
Match Report
The sound of the air raid siren heralded the start of the new year for Everton at Hill Dickinson. Lille kicked off and Everton were quick to get the ball moving around the pitch. A great ball into Barry created some space but his shot was blocked. Dibling got the crowd on their feet when he nutmegged the defender but lost his footing.
Everton had sustained their pressure for almost 7 minutes before Lille had their first foray into the Everton half. However, it was fleeting and Merlin Rohl took the first shot and forced a good save. A quick breakout from Everton saw Ndiaye passed across the box to Dibling who cut inside and forced a brilliant save from Ozer.
The match was stopped when 39-year-old Olivier Giroud went down with a knee injury and tried to continue but eventually was replaced by Diaouane. Another great move between Ndiaye and KDH needed a sliding block to prevent it getting to Barry.
Ndiaye darted between two defenders and laid off another pass to Dibling but the young winger’s shot didn’t bother the keeper. Tyler Dibling was at it again and his cross into KDH was excellent, but KDH could not get the ball down and the chance went begging. The crowd appreciated the willingness of the young winger to take on the defenders.
Barry and Ndiaye linked up well but the cute backheel by Ndiaye was intercepted. Moments later, Ndiaye was on the ball again and as he cut across the box, his shot deflected off KDH.
Mykolenko lobbed a ball into the path of KDH who raced into the box and was taken down. The ref immediately pointed to the spot. Ndiaye took a couple of big breaths and he slotted it into the corner as the keeper went the other way.
From the kickoff, Lille went forward and a lovely ball from Bentaleb into the path of the striker forced a nice save from Pickford. The pressure continued and it was Bentaleb who laced a ball just wide of the post which had Pickford stretched. It was the last action before the half ended.
No changes for the Blues and the arrival of wantaway midfielder Ayyoub Bouaddi for Lille as the second half kicked off. A slow start was ignited when Thierno Barry slid a ball into Harrison Armstrong who looked miles offside. Armstrong swivelled and lifted the ball over the bar and put his head into his hands as he realized that he was onside. A shocking miss.
Ayyoub Bouaddi then showed his pace as he drove forward and delivered a great cross which was cleared by Branthwaite. Lille were starting to control the play but when Armstrong broke forward and KDH had the ball in the box, he was about to shoot but went down. The ref gave nothing but the replay showed he had his shirt pulled.
Armstrong made another great run down the right side and drew a foul. In the stoppage, Everton made seven changes including a first appearance for Brennan Johnson. Hackney, Rohl, KDH and Myko stayed on the pitch. Myko did a nice job heading a ball clear when Lille delivered a dangerous cross into the box.
We were sitting back a little after the changes, but when Keane lobbed a ball over the top, Brennan Johnson was in the clear, but his touch was poor and the Lille defender recovered. Tyrique George skipped through three defenders and passed the ball to Johnson who hit it well, but the shot was tipped over the bar. The resulting corner saw Beto headed the ball goalward, but the keeper got his hand to it. Everton were pushing for their second goal.
In a moment of madness, Aleksandro turned and drilled a ball back to his keeper but it went over him and luckily curled past his own post! The game had lost its edge, and more changes saw Aznou come on for Myko and Alcaraz for KDH.
Alcaraz switched the play to George who used the overlap run of Aznou who delivered the ball into the middle and somehow Johnson could not get his foot on it. Lille responded by pressuring the Blues and Mark Travers was forced into two great saves. Everton were playing on the counter, and it was a frantic last ten minutes that had Moyes jumping up and down on the sideline.
Everton built one final attack and it was a good team move that involved most of the side. Patterson’s cross was the climax and Rohl was winding up a volley only for the ball to be taken from his toes by Bouaddi.
Incredibly, two minutes of additional time had well passed when Lille countered and Haraldsson scored amid a mess in the Blues box. It was the final play of the game as the Everton supporters groaned.
Everton’s Man of the Match
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall – It would be easy to say that Iliman Ndiaye was the best on the pitch because of his fast feet and darting runs. However, the play of Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall was excellent throughout. His distribution of the ball and interplay kept Everton on the front foot in a complete first half as his tireless running drew the penalty that won the game.
Instant Reaction
You would think that today’s lineup will be very close to the one that starts next week and I wouldn’t mind if that is true. A bright start and some nice quick play against a strong Lille team was very promising. We should have scored a second to kill of the game with several big chances not taken. The team controlled the play for most of the match, and it was disappointing to give up the late goal. However, without ten changes we would have got the win. Bring on Palace!
Our two wide players were so good today. Ndiaye on the left and Dibling on the right pressured the Lille defenders from the start and kept them on their heels. Dibling is growing in confidence and Ndiaye is just quality. Overlapping runs from Rohl were also great to see. With George and Johnson supporting, I am not sure if we need to spend money on Grealish.
When you look at the quality and quantity of players we have in the middle of the pitch there must be some optimism heading into the Palace match. Any three of Hackney, KDH, Armstrong, Garner and Norgaard will be an improvement over the options we had last year.
Player Ratings
Jordan Pickford – Not much for the England #1 who made a couple of saves before he was withdrawn.
Merlin Röhl – Lots of running in support of Dibling and some good defending. When he moved into the middle in the second half, he pulled the strings and almost got a goal.
James Tarkowski – Solid performance and he looked more comfortable sitting next to Branthwaite.
Jarrad Branthwaite – Composed performance in the middle.
Vitaliy Mykolenko – A much better match defensively although his forward play continues to be non-existent. Aznou should get a chance to start.
Hayden Hackney – Sitting in front of the back four, Hackney protected them beautifully. He should get the start next week.
Harrison Armstrong – Another complete performance and it will give Moyes a headache going into the Palace match. His composure, vision and distribution was excellent.
Kiernan Dewsbury‑Hall – A MOTM performance and drew the penalty for the go ahead goal.
Tyler Dibling – Another bright outing and his first half shot got Evertonians out of their seats.
Iliman Ndiaye – His quick feet were on show and his passing opened up Lille
Thierno Barry – Good holdup play and his willingness to work with his wingers created some chances.
