Rio Ferdinand says 26-year-old Everton player was ‘careless’ in the 2-0 loss to Man City

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Everton were ultimately undone by some Erling Haaland brilliance on Saturday lunchtime as they fell to a 2-0 defeat against Manchester City.

Despite losing 2-0 to the champions, Everton put in a solid defensive display at the Etihad and were dreaming of taking what would have been a priceless point back to Goodison Park.

Of course, Man City dominated possession throughout but they failed to register a shot on target in the first half as the Toffees held firm in their shape.

The defensive duo of James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite were near faultless until Erling Haaland broke Everton’s hearts on the 70th-minute mark before brushing Branthwaite aside to score his second five minutes from time.

In the end, Haaland’s brilliance and City’s substitutions proved to be the difference as Kevin De Bruyne came off the bench to grab an assist, but Sean Dyche’s side did have their chances on the counter-attack.

Unfortunately, Dominic Calvert-Lewin was wasteful in possession and failed to make it stick. There was one chance in the first half where he could have played Dwight McNeil in but instead placed a weak effort on goal.

Calvert-Lewin had a difficult afternoon up against City’s defenders and Rio Ferdinand commented on his display on punditry for TNT Sports.

Rio Ferdinand labels Dominic Calvert Lewin as ‘careless’

As a lone striker, it’s difficult to be efficient in possession, especially when coming up against world-class defenders.

Ferdinand did have sympathy for the 26-year-old but he also claimed that he needed to do better in possession to give his side chances to score on the counter.

Speaking at half-time, he said: “It’s tough up there, being isolated on your own against a machine and a team like Man City, it is difficult, but you do get moments, you need to hold the ball up for your team and you need to bring other players into the game more than he has.

“He’s been careless at times. He’s been rushing at times, he’s not getting many touches. If he can bully the centre-halves he will give them a great opportunity to get goals.”

Calvert-Lewin was wasteful against Man City

Calvert-Lewin was Everton’s outlet, the man they relied on to hold up the ball and give themselves a breather.

Although the Englishman ran his socks off and battled hard against City’s strong defenders, he was also incredibly wasteful.

He only completed six of his 18 passes (33%) and lost possession a whopping 14 times, as per Sofascore.

Dyche needed his striker to be physical and win those challenges on half-turn while bringing his teammates into play.

Calvert-Lewin did neither, and although he was isolated at times, he had to hold the ball up and relieve pressure. The statistics show he struggled to do that.