Everton battled out a 1-1 draw at home to Arsenal on Saturday lunchtime, putting yet another dent in the visitors’ all-but evaporated Premier League title ambitions.
Leandro Trossard broke the deadlock with the first shot on target of the match to give a much-changed Arsenal side the lead after 34 minutes. Burned by a recent glut of injuries and with one eye unmistakably on Tuesday’s Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid, Mikel Arteta put four first-choice starters on the bench for the trip to Goodison Park.
The impatient Arsenal boss turned to two of those regulars – Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli – during the half-time interval while the visitors held a slender one-goal advantage. It did not have the desired effect.
Within a minute of the restart, Everton were given a penalty after Myles Lewis-Skelly clumsily hauled down Jack Harrison. Iliman Ndiaye dispatched the spot kick without any fuss.
Everton’s steely resolve kept Arsenal at bay and – unintentionally – nudged Liverpool closer to the Premier League title. The Reds are 11 points clear of the Gunners ahead of their trip to Fulham.
|
Player |
Rating |
|---|---|
|
GK: Jordan Pickford |
6.4/10 |
|
RB: Jake O’Brien |
6.5/10 |
|
CB: James Tarkowski |
7.4/10 |
|
CB: Jarrad Branthwaite |
7.2/10 |
|
LB: Nathan Patterson |
6.4/10 |
|
CM: Idrissa Gana Gueye |
6.5/10 |
|
CM: Tim Iroegbunam |
5.9/10 |
|
AM: Abdoulaye Doucoure |
6.1/10 |
|
RW: Jack Harrison |
6.9/10 |
|
ST: Beto |
6.4/10 |
|
LW: Iliman Ndiaye |
7.7/10 |
|
SUB: James Garner (65′ for Iroegbunam) |
6.3/10 |
|
SUB: Armando Broja (65′ for Beto) |
5.9/10 |
|
SUB: Ashley Young (75′ for Patterson) |
6.4/10 |
|
SUB: Carlos Alcaraz (75′ for Ndiaye) |
5.9/10 |
|
SUB: Dwight McNeil (87′ for Harrison) |
N/A |
Subs not used: Joao Virginia (GK), Michael Keane, Seamus Coleman, Youssef Chermiti.
|
Player |
Rating |
|---|---|
|
GK: David Raya |
6.4/10 |
|
RB: Ben White |
7.1/10 |
|
CB: William Saliba |
7.5/10 |
|
CB: Jakub Kiwior |
6.8/10 |
|
LB: Myles Lewis-Skelly |
6.6/10 |
|
CM: Declan Rice |
6.9/10 |
|
CM: Jorginho |
6.3/10 |
|
CM: Mikel Merino |
7.7/10 |
|
RW: Ethan Nwaneri |
6.7/10 |
|
ST: Leandro Trossard |
7.5/10 |
|
LW: Raheem Sterling |
7.1/10 |
|
SUB: Bukayo Saka (46′ for Nwaneri) |
6.6/10 |
|
SUB: Gabriel Martinelli (46′ for Sterling) |
6.9/10 |
|
SUB: Jurrien Timber (62′ for White) |
6.6/10 |
|
SUB: Martin Odegaard (71′ for Jorginho) |
5.9/10 |
|
SUB: Kieran Tierney (75′ for Lewis-Skelly) |
6.8/10 |
Subs not used: Neto (GK), Oleksandr Zinchenko, Jimi Gower, Thomas Partey.
