Everton enjoyed a wonderful day at the office on Sunday, beating Aston Villa away from home.
Most people didn’t give the Toffees any hope of drawing against Unai Emery’s side, let alone winning.
But a David Moyes tactical masterclass saw Everton leave Villa Park with all three points, and the result moved the club up to 10th in the Premier League table.
How good was Thierno Barry by the way? 🔥
Everton striker Thierno Barry has come in for many plaudits for his wonderful finish past Emi Martinez.
And many fans felt James Garner stood out against Villa, and the midfielder’s performance was seen by England manager Thomas Tuchel.
Shearer praised Garner earlier this week following his performance.
And the Premier League legend has now doubled down on that praise, choosing Garner in his latest Team of the Week.
- READ MORE: Everton player ratings vs Aston Villa, Thierno Barry one of four 8/10s in big win for David Moyes
Alan Shearer picks James Garner and Thierno Barry in his Team of the Week
Shearer has named his latest Team of the Week, and there are two Everton representatives.
He said of Garner (via Premier League): “Outstanding in midfield against a strong Aston Villa side.”
And Shearer also acknowledged Barry, saying: “Barry was a constant threat and scored the winning goal.”
His team in full was as follows:
- Matz Sels
- Nordi Mukiele
- Harry Maguire
- Lisandro Martinez
- Mateus Fernandes
- James Garner
- Bruno Fernandes
- Patrick Dorgu
- Bryan Mbeumo
- Thierno Barry
- Crysencio Summerville
It’s great to see Garner and Barry included in the XI – undoubtedly, they are both deserving of their places.
But Shearer sadly didn’t choose another couple of Everton players who also really deserved to make it in.
James Tarkowski and Jake O’Brien can count themselves unlucky
James Tarkowski and Jake O’Brien were both instrumental in the win over Villa.
They made 23 defensive contributions between them, and they both more than played their part in helping Everton to keep a ninth clean sheet of the season.
Shearer was clearly allowed to pick as many players from one team as possible. While Manchester United played very well against Manchester City, five picks from Shearer feels a bit much.
There were also very good performances from the likes of Harrison Armstrong and Merlin Rohl for Everton. But the centre-halves were both immense.
Even Everton felt obliged to publish O’Brien’s defensive stats to their X feed on Tuesday morning. It was genuinely a top performance from the Irishman, who also got very unlucky when he saw a goal ruled out for offside against Harrison Armstrong.
At least Tarkowski did get some acknowledgment making it into Troy Deeney’s Team of the Week.
Receive a digest of our best Everton content each week direct to your mailbox
