An examination of Everton’s defensive statistics against Brighton & Hove Albion show why they were so difficult for their opponents to try and break down at the Amex Stadium
Brighton & Hove Albion might not have been happy with Everton’s 1-0 win at the Amex Stadium. But a string of impressive figures highlight the strength of the Blues’ defensive display that earned them their first back-to-back victories of the season.
Iliman Ndiaye’s 42nd-minute penalty proved the difference on the Sussex coast, but such was the resoluteness of David Moyes’ men, Jordan Pickford was recorded by Comparisonator as not having a save to make, with his only stop of note coming when he tipped a shot by Joao Pedro that was deflected off Jesper Lindstrom over the bar.
Here’s a look at the numbers behind Everton’s defensive masterclass that secured only their second three points on the road of 2024/25 after the 2-0 success at newly promoted Ipswich Town on October 19.
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Comparisonator calculated the Blues as having the most A.I. defensive points of all Premier League teams over the weekend with a score of 839, finishing above Manchester United (820), who also won 1-0 away, at their case at Fulham, and Bournemouth (748), who thrashed this season’s surprise package Nottingham Forest 5-0.
The cornerstone of Everton’s success was them making more clearances (15) than any other team in the division, ahead of Ipswich Town (14) and Crystal Palace (12) while only Leicester City (67) could top the Blues’ 59 interceptions.
As highlighted by the ECHO’s player ratings, compiled by this correspondent, Everton captain James Tarkowski was a defensive colossus, leading by example as his nine clearances were the most in the Premier League last weekend, ahead of his own centre-back partner Jarrad Branthwaite and Crystal Palace’s Maxence Lacroix, who both had eight.
Branthwaite led the way for interceptions on 12, the same as Southampton’s Jan Bednarek with Lacroix on 11 and Tarkowski joint third on 10 with Ipswich Town’s Jacob Greaves.
Left-back Vitalii Mykolenko picked up the most A.I. defensive points of any player in his position (221) ahead of Joel Veltman of Brighton (157) and Milos Kerkez of Bournemouth (141) while the Ukraine international also had the joint most ball recoveries in his own half (10, shared with Aston Villa’s Lucas Digne).
It was a title that Mykolenko shared with Jake O’Brien on the other side with the Republic of Ireland international deployed as an auxiliary right-back but ranked first for ball recoveries in his own half (14) ahead of Pedro Porro of Tottenham Hotspur (12) and Wout Faes of Leicester City (9).
Meanwhile, providing a shield in front of his back four, midfielder Idrissa Gueye scored 108 A.I. points for duels, a tally second only to Aston Villa’s Boubacar Kamara on 170.
Such a determined collective effort makes a mockery of the pantomime outrage displayed by Brighton players, staff and fans over the result and shows why Moyes’ side were good value for their first consecutive Premier League wins this term.
*Comparisonator is a football data comparison tool from 271 professional leagues around the world which compares players and clubs by utilising over 100 different parameters. Click here for more details.
