Everton were unwavering in their commitment to maintaining solidity yesterday, withstanding barrage after barrage of attack, but never really coming unstuck.
In the end, only a wicked deflection saw Brighton and Hove Albion break down the Toffees, who limited a side who had 80% of the ball to just two shots on target.
However, it always felt like were the visitors to undo Sean Dyche’s system, it would be down the left flank, where Kaoru Mitoma was consistently terrorising Ashley Young .
The trickster admittedly breezes past most full-backs in the Premier League, but on Saturday afternoon it seemed particularly easy, with such a threat only being quelled by the pure solidity of the centre-back pairing to remove the danger his deliveries offered.
And yet, despite that, captain James Tarkowski would still come out to praise his 38-year-old teammate for his efforts, telling Everton’s YouTube channel: ‘Yeah, I think Youngy was excellent all day against Mitoma who’s really difficult to play against. Gets his body in the way, deflects, it just when perfectly for them.’
How did Ashley Young play vs Brighton?
Although the own goal was far from Young’s fault, as a freak deflection that was severely unfortunate, it did mark a torrid end to what had been a rough game for the former Aston Villa ace.
After all, to emphasise just how much he struggled, the defender would only make a sole tackle and yet was dribbled past four times before his late substitution.
The Japan international was electric, and as such tortured the £40k-per-week free transfer who was handed the worst Sofascore rating (6.1) of anyone on the entire pitch.
Not only that, but his 64% pass accuracy showcased his in-possession fragilities too, with little coming off offensively or defensively for Everton‘s ageing stalwart.
Given Nathan Patterson was waiting patiently on the bench, it did mark a confusing decision for Dyche to throw Young straight back into the mix, especially after his last Premier League showing saw him sent off and widely criticised.
Yesterday saw him once again prove a liability, with the young Scotsman surely meriting a run in the side soon.
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