Everton Battle For A Decent Point Away From Goodison

Wolves' goal only 7 minutes after Jack Harrison's opener meant the game ended in a 1-1 draw, where perhaps Vitor Pereira's side should have come away from the Molineux Stadium with all three points as the Toffees' lacklustre attacking display left David Moyes "disappointed."

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Lineups:

Wolves:

Sa

Doherty

Agbadou

Gomes

Semedo

Gomes

Andre

Ait-Nouri

Munetsi

Bellegarde

Strand Larsen

Everton:

Pickford

Mykolenko

Tarkowski

Branthwaite

O'Brien

Gueye

Garner

Harrison

Lindstrom

Doucoure

Beto

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Everton continue their unbeaten run, stretching it to a huge 8 games, the best form since February 2017 against a Wolves side without their top goalscorer and Brazilian striker Matheus Cunha, who was sent off in their defeat to Bournemouth in the FA Cup, meaning it would be tough to adapt without their key asset. Fortunately, the Wanderers managed to do so.

It was an extremely even game until the 33rd minute, when Jack Harrison picked up the ball on the left-hand side after a pinpoint cross-field pass from Danish winger Jesper Lindstrom. Taking a shot directed into the opposite bottom right corner, the ball deflected off both Matt Doherty's and Joao Gomes' legs, fooling Jose Sa in net, spilling into the back of the net, opening the scoring, and confirming Harrison's first goal of the season for the Toffees during his loan spell from EFL Championship side Leeds United.

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Jack Harrison Everton Stats:

Appearances: 63

Goals: 5

Assists: 3

Yellow Cards: 3

Red Cards: 0

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After the game, Jack Harrison spoke to TNT Sports regarding his goal, with the 28-year-old stating that "to score a goal, it's a nice start, but I'm hoping to crack on from here."

However, it wasn't long after when Wolves scored an equaliser. Throughout the game, Wolves kept finding ways to break down the Everton midfield, consisting of Gueye and Garner, being able to play that pass through, creating opportunities in the central area of the final third; this tactic ended up leading to the goal. Whilst Jan-Ricner Bellegarde picked up the ball, driving through the midfield and towards the Everton backline, Zimbabwean international Marshall Munetsi was making a run between Mykolenko and Branthwaite. Unorganised, the Toffees' defence was all over the place, and Bellgarde's weighted through-ball pass into the path of Munetsi meant that the 28-year-old only had to accurately pull it towards the bottom left corner, and doing so meant Wolves were back in the game.

A huge goal for not only Munetsi, as it was the midfielder's first goal for the club, but also for the future of Wolves come next season, as the equaliser brought Pereira's squad back in the game, which was a huge opportunity to go even further clear of the relegation zone, as prior to kickoff the Wanderers were only 5 points clear of Ipswich, who sat in 18th place.

Throughout the second half, Everton were poor in the final third. The hold-up play by both Beto and Docuoure meant the majority of opportunities to pounce went astray. Wolves kept recycling chances, however. Halftime substitute Pablo Sarabia made a huge impact coming on for the goalscorer, as almost every Wolves chance came through the Spanish international. Even just moments after coming on, the winger placed a free kick that seemed to be going in, just to curl inches towards the wrong side of the post. It was tough going for Everton, with David Moyes injecting some fresh legs into the centre of the park, bringing both Tim Iroegunam and Carlos Alacarz, who gave some midfield creativity and pace, on to calm the game down.

The large amount of bodies Wolves decided to attack with meant that Everton had the opportunity to counterattack through the substitute Alcaraz. Gushing past the Wanderers midfield, the Argentinian international had Beto alongside him. The Portuguese man unfortunately lacked the killer instinct to pounce on the 2v3 opportunity, meaning the game stretched out and ended level.

The Toffees are slowly but surely confirming mathematical Premier League safety this season, which is the overall goal for David Moyes. The Scottish manager spoke in his post-match press conference about the game, stating that “I'm really pleased with the point. I don't think we played the best tonight, but I think we showed the club has got resilience. It was tough; they made it hard. I don't think Wolves created loads of chances, but they were the better side, and we stuck at it," the 61-year-old also added that “we still made one or two opportunities, but tonight was always going to be an incredibly difficult game with what Wolves are playing for—staying in the Premier League. They are fighting for those points so hard, like we have been in recent games at Goodison. So I knew exactly how tough it would be.”

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Everton Form Since Appointment of David Moyes:

(Premier League)

Games in charge: 9

Won: 4

Drew: 4

Lost: 1

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On the other hand, Wolves manager Vitor Pereira, who joined the club in December last calendar year, has done a fabulous job and looks to be heading for another year in the Premier League. He spoke in his post-match press conference with the Portuguese man, explaining that "the result was not one we expected, but the performance was consistent. It was a performance showing personality, tactical organisation, confidence, and team spirit, and we tried everything to score another goal. In the end it's one point; we'll see what it means in the future," with the 56-year-old adding that, "I believe a lot in the qualities of my players. We used to speak a lot about tactics, but at this moment it is important to feel the team spirit and that they are committed to achieving our targets. We must wait for the Leicester game tomorrow against Chelsea. It is better being six points than five points."

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Premier League Gameweek 28:

Saturday 9th March:

Nottingham Forest 1-0 Manchester City

Brighton & Hove Albion 2-1 Fulham

Crystal Palace 1-0 Ipswich Town

Liverpool 3-1 Southampton

Brentford 0-1 Aston Villa

Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-1 Everton

Sunday 10th March:

Chelsea 14:00 Leicester City

Tottenham Hotspur 14:00 Bournemouth

Manchester United 16:30 Arsenal

Monday 11th March:

West Ham United 20:00 Newcastle United

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Thank you for reading my post-match article!