Beto deplorable, Iliman Ndiaye visionary - Everton player ratings v Liverpool
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(Credit: Imago)
Jack Heath
Sat 20 September 2025 14:55, UK
Everton crashed to a 2-1 defeat at Liverpool in the Merseyside derby on Saturday, as the Toffees came nail-bitingly close to getting a point at Anfield.
David Moyes would have been proud of an assured performance from his side as they came close to grabbing a surprise point against neighbours Liverpool.
Left-back Vitalii Mykolenko was called back into the Toffees squad after niggling injuries, with sources telling Football Insider that Everton could sign a free agent at full-back in the January transfer window to provide support to the Ukrainian.
Idrissa Gana Gueye grabbed a goal back in the second half, but it was too late after first-half strikes from Ryan Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike.
Football Insider reviews the performances of the Scotsman’s team after a disappointing trip to Anfield in the classic derby on 20 September.
Credit: Imago
The England international made just one save as he couldn’t stop two excellent goals from Ryan Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike.
Passing proved to be his undoing, with only 50 per cent of his passes finding the desired target.
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The Irishman was relatively assured against Cody Gakpo on the left-hand side and didn’t have too much to do in the sense of defending.
However, O’Brien did lose the ball on several occasions, which slowed down the counter-attacks of the Evertonians, proving he is yet again being forced to play out of position.
Credit: Getty Images
The 32-year-old was bamboozled by the Premier League champions as he was often caught napping against the Red’s fast attacks.
Moyes is in desperate need of Jarrad Branthwaite coming back to full fitness to bolster the defence.
The ultra dependable James Tarkowski championed the Toffees’ backline to ensure they weren’t destroyed by their neighbours.
The Englishman was superb at the back with some last-ditch tackles and blocks, but that is no surprise given his never-say-die attitude.
Credit: Getty Images
Sources told Football Insider on 19 September that Sergio Reguilon is linked with Everton on a potential return to the Premier League.
The Ukrainian struggled to limit the power and class of Mohamed Salah in the Merseyside derby, prompting questions over whether the Spaniard’s move to the Toffees could become a reality.
Part of a dogged midfield, James Garner worked in tandem with his colleagues to try to stop the flow of the Reds’ attack.
Everton are monitoring Tottenham’s Yves Bissouma as a potential replacement for the Senegalese in the January transfer window.
(Credit Imago)
At 35-years-old the number 27 showed no signs of slowing down as he remained energetic, as well as grabbing a goal to cut the deficit.
There is still life in the midfield general, yet.
Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall did everything in his power to push the Toffees to get close to the Liverpool goal with his superb passing and stamina to run from box to box.
The 27-year-old delivered two key passes despite picking up a bizarre yellow card.
Looked to be one of the forces to have that golden touch to create something out of nothing as the Englishman notched four key passes.
On another day, Grealish could’ve grabbed a couple of assists if his teammates could finish better.
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The Senegalese star struggled in the first half but clawed it back in the second 45 minutes with his outstanding creativity and workrate.
Ndiaye secured an assist for Idrissa Gueye’s 58th-minute strike, as well as notching two key passes as he continues to star on the Everton right.
The Guinea-Bissau international was wasteful in Everton’s 0-0 draw with Aston Villa on 13 September and continued in the same vein against the Reds, with the ball just not sticking to him.
Beto squandered numerous chances to put the Toffees back in the game as Thierno Barry keeps asking himself what he needs to do to push into the starting XI.
He simply let the fans down on the biggest stage.
Credit: Hasan Karim, Breaking Media
Came on for the dreadful Beto and instantly made the attack look a bit more structured and defined with better hold-up play than his Portuguese counterpart.
Moyes has to consider starting the Frenchman in the next game.
The new signing from Southampton only featured for eight minutes in his first bit of action for his new club.
The Argentinian had little time to influence proceedings as he also played just eight minutes alongside Tyler Dibling.