Everton suffered a calamitous 3-0 defeat at home against Brighton & Hove Albion to kickstart the new season in the most disastrous way possible. The Toffees are entering their final campaign at Goodison Park, but will be hoping performances can pick up after this defeat so they can give their stadium the send-off it deserves.
Kaoru Mitoma opened the scoring for the Seagulls on the 25-minute mark, a well-worked team goal after Everton lost possession of the ball on the edge of the visitors' box. The Japan international got on the end of a good cross from Yankuba Minteh on debut to give his side the lead.
Fabian Hurzeler, managing his first competitive Brighton game, saw his side double their lead in the 56th minute thanks to a goal from Danny Welbeck. It was another assist for a summer signing, with Mats Wieffer intercepting a loose ball from the Toffees and finding Welbeck, who converged on Everton’s box and slotted home.
Simon Adingra killed the game off in the 86th minute, receiving the ball from Welbeck again and cutting inside on his left foot, finding the bottom-left corner. A VAR intervention cancelled a fourth Seagulls goal from Yasin Ayari after he was deemed offside.
Everton’s defensive stats
It was a poor defensive showing from Everton, who conceded three goals in a single game for the first time since a 6-0 defeat to Chelsea in April. Sean Dyche will no doubt be very disappointed to have put in such a frustrating defensive showing.
As per Sofascore, they conceded ten shots throughout the game, and whilst that is not too many – they had nine themselves – five of those were on target and all but one were inside the box.
Hurzeler’s side also had a far superior expected-goals tally, with the Seagulls posting an xG total of 1.56, compared to just 0.4 for the Toffees, showing the quality of chances created was better from the visitors, too.
Stat
Everton
Brighton
Shots
9
10
Shots on target
1
5
Shots inside the box
6
9
Expected goals (xG)
0.4
1.56
Touches in the opposition penalty box
18
28
Of course, the Toffees were not helped by the experienced Ashley Young getting sent off in the 66th minute for a professional foul at 2-0 down. However, the damage was already done, and it was a long way back for them at that stage.
It was not just a tough day at the office for Everton’s defenders, with their attackers also struggling to get involved in the game, particularly Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Calvert-Lewin’s match stats vs. Brighton
The experienced Everton forward simply could not get into the game on Saturday and incredibly had fewer touches than Toffees goalkeeper Pickford. Everton’s striker touched the ball just 20 times, compared to 50 for the England No 1.
Outside of that, the 27-year-old won just three out of seven aerial duels against the Seagulls and did not manage to get a shot off at all. It was certainly a frustrating day that was made even more disappointing after having a penalty decision overruled after Calvert-Lewin was judged not to have been fouled by Lewis Dunk.
The Everton No 9 was given a 5/10 for his performance against Brighton by LiverpoolWorld journalist Will Rooney. The journalist explained he ‘battled away in the first half’, but struggled for any service of note from his teammates and could not get into the game.
With the likes of Beto and Iliman Ndiaye options for Dyche to play up front, it remains to be seen whether Calvert-Lewin will keep his place in the side for next week’s trip to Tottenham Hotspur. One thing is for sure, he will be hoping for more service in north London if he continues to get the nod.