GK: Emiliano Martínez—6.1: Was at fault for Everton’s winner, spilling Dwight McNeil’s otherwise tame curling effort straight into Barry’s path, who produced an excellent lob to punish the mistake.
RB: Matty Cash—7.2: Energetic down the right, often getting the better of Vitalii Mykolenko, and defensively reliable, but—like the rest of his teammates—unable to find the killer pass in the final third.
CB: Ezri Konsa—6.8: Solid when called upon, which wasn’t too often. Dominant in both ground and aerial duels.
CB: Pau Torres—6.2: A below-par outing from the Spaniard. Several long passes went astray and he struggled in the air against Barry, who got the better of him on multiple occasions.
LB: Ian Maatsen—7.0: Always willing to get forward and test the goalkeeper, Maatsen caused Nathan Patterson problems down the left, though his final product was inconsistent.
DM: Lamare Bogarde—6.8: Booked early and looked uncomfortable in possession at times. Villa will be eager to welcome Boubacar Kamara back to anchor the midfield.
DM: Youri Tielemans—7.9: Pulled the strings nicely from deep and shielded the defence well in transition. A composed, all-round display from a key figure in Emery’s system, even in defeat.
RW: John McGinn—6.0: Forced off injured early on. His replacement, Evann Guessand—fresh back from AFCON—struggled to make a real impact.
AM: Morgan Rogers—5.8: Everton focused heavily on shutting him down early, but he found more space after the break. Wasteful by his standards, missing several good chances.
LW: Emiliano Buendía—6.8: Created a couple of openings for Rogers, which went begging, and worked tirelessly to try to break Everton down to no avail. Went close himself with a late effort.
ST: Ollie Watkins—5.7: Quiet by recent standards. Managed just one shot on goal as Everton’s well-organised defence limited his involvement.
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