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(Credit: Imago)
Oliver Walton
Mon 18 August 2025 23:31, UK
Everton got their Premier League campaign off to a poor start at Elland Road with a 1-0 defeat to newly-promoted Leeds United.
Leeds started the much brighter side as they kept Jordan Pickford busy and tested him on numerous occasions, with the England international standing strong despite their constant pressure.
Everton came back into proceedings in the second-half with a lot more control of the ball and action in the hosts’ final third, but they were unable to create real clear-cut chances as Charly Alcaraz’s shot was saved by Lucas Perri and Jake O’Brien sent a header over from a corner.
The game changed in the 82nd minute as James Tarkowski was deemed to have handled the ball in the area, and Lukas Nmecha stepped up to fire home under Pickford’s dive to hand his new club an opening-weekend win.
After a poor Everton performance that will do very little to excite fans, here are Football Insider‘s three winners and three losers from the night’s action.
(Credit Imago)
Thierno Barry
Barry had just three touches of the ball after he came onto the field in the 86th minute with the Toffees desperately searching for an equaliser, but the fact he didn’t really put a foot wrong will stand him in good stead going forward due to Beto’s shocking showing.
Beto struggled to make an impact all evening as he cut a hugely frustrated figure in attack, and Barry will surely be handed a chance from the off next week against Brighton following his £27million [BBC] move from Villarreal last month.
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Jake O’Brien
O’Brien kept Willy Gnonto quiet all game at Elland Road, and once again proved why David Moyes has played a blinder in moving him to right-back.
The Irishman was strong in the tackle and barely gave the Italian winger any opportunity to create space or run into the penalty area, and the Toffees’ lack of options in his new position will surely see him continue to shine there for the rest of the season.
(Credit Imago)
Charly Alcaraz
Alcaraz did not get on the ball very often in the first-half, but he came into it more in the second and proved why he should keep his place amid competition for starts on the wings under Moyes.
The fiery Argentinian is an attacking midfielder by trade, and so adding new strings to his bow out wide can only be a positive thing, as he was the only Toffees attacker to actually test Perri with a well-saved shot in the 76th minute.
Tim Iroegbunam
The 22-year-old had a poor game all round and was arguably lucky not to be sent-off for two bookable offences in each half.
The first saw him pull back Ao Tanaka and fortunately escape without a caution, while the second was a desperately late tackle on Ethan Ampadu which did earn him a booking, and it would be a shock to see him keep his starting place going forward after such a bad showing.
James Tarkowski
Tarkowski had put in a relatively poor showing for the majority of the game prior to his handball offence, and it is that decision that sees him down as a loser, as he literally caused his side to lose the game and will want to forget the whole night in a hurry.
(Credit: Imago)
The centre-back tried to block a goal-bound shot and instinctively put his arm towards the ball to stop it, causing Chris Kavanagh to point to the spot before Nmecha dispatched coolly.
Beto
The lanky striker’s terrible outing saw him have just two touches in Leeds’ area all game and win just five of his 13 aerial duels [Fotmob].
Beto has been linked with the Elland Road outfit this summer, but they will certainly not want to sign him after this performance, and Moyes will likely be happy to see him leave in favour of making another new forward signing.
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