Everton jumped back into 5th place after their hard-fought 2-1 win over Leeds at Elland Road in a high tempo affair that was end to end from the first minute.

The Toffees produced an ideal first half performance and were ahead after just 10 minutes when Gylfi Sigurdsson arrived late in the box to fire home Lucas Digne’s inch-perfect pullback. Digne notched his sixth assist of the season and once again proved his worth to the Blues with his constant threat from wide areas. Leeds almost equalised when Ezgjan Alioski hit the post with a speculative volleyed attempt from a corner, before Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed home from close range to double their lead. That goal signalled the end to an eight game goal drought in the league for the England forward who has now registered his best ever goal scoring season

Despite the first forty-five minutes being a success for Everton, the hosts battled back and scored early in the second half, with Raphinha continuing his good form with a brilliant finish into the bottom corner after some sloppy defending from Mason Holgate. Robin Olsen, who was brought into the team in the absence of an injured Jordan Pickford, made an incredible triple save to prevent Leeds from equalising as Everton bounced back from defeat to secure three points. Leeds pinned Everton in their own half for the majority of the second half yet the latter came out victorious after some great defensive performances from the likes of Yerry Mina and Abdoulaye Doucoure.

The match at Elland Road proved to fans that Everton can in fact play with pace. Due to the pace that Bielsa’s team plays at, Ancelotti was forced to match it in terms of intensity. Impressive displays were put in by Mina, Godfrey, Olsen and Doucoure who stepped up to the challenge of subduing the lethal Leeds attack. Ben Godfrey in particular stood out from the rest as the summer signing from Norwich has gone from strength to strength, showing his versatility whilst filling in at left back, right back and centre back and excelling in all three positions. His pace paired with his strength make the perfect combination for a modern young defender who is quickly becoming a winger’s worst nightmare.

Another positive is the return of Dominc Calvert-Lewin to the scoresheet who was desperately needing a goal after hitting a dry patch over the past weeks. Although he did score, it wasn’t his best performance as he wasted two great opportunities at the end of the game as it looked like the centre forward was exhausted. Despite this, he is a great weapon for the Blues, constantly challenging defenders in the air and coming out victorious most of the time.

The win takes the Toffees up to sixth place with two games in hand on most of the teams around them causing the race for a european spot to heat up. The hope is that when Allan is back from injury, he will slot in the midfield next to Doucoure and then Everton will be at full strength to push forward to achieve the aim of being in Europe next season. The Blues face Manchester United next on Saturday which will be a difficult obstacle to overcome after the Red Devils smashed nine past Southampton in their last match.

Player Ratings:

Robin Olsen – 8

Lucas Digne – 7.5

Yerry Mina – 7

Ben Godfrey – 9 (MOTM)

Mason Holgate – 5

Abdoulaye Doucouré – 8.5 

Andre Gomes – 7

Gylfi Sigurðsson – 7

Alexander Iwobi – 6

Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 7

Richarlison – 5

Subs:

Joshua King – N/A

Michael Keane – N/A

Tom Davies – N/A