Everton journalist Patrick Boyland picked out Vitaliy Mykolenko for praise following Saturday’s 4-1 FA Cup win over Brentford.
The lowdown
Frank Lampard oversaw a resounding Goodison Park victory in his first game in charge, with Yerry Mina, Richarlison, Mason Holgate and Andros Townsend all finding the net.
He set out the team in a 3-4-3 formation, with Mykolenko lining up at left wing-back.
It was the 22-year-old’s home debut following his £17.9million January move from Dynamo Kyiv.
The latest
Boyland took to Twitter shortly after the final whistle to applaud Mykolenko.
He reckons Frank Lampard will be more than satisfied with the performance of the young Ukrainian.
“Others will take plaudits but [we saw a] much more assured Mykolenko this afternoon,” he wrote. “Did everything asked of him and more.”
The verdict
What do the stats say about Mykolenko’s performance? Well, he didn’t have much to do out of possession, contesting only one duel and making a single interception (via SofaScore).
The £58,000-per-week defender was decent with the ball however, completing 18 of his 21 passes for an accuracy of 86%.
While he did manage to create a chance, none of his three crosses found a team-mate, and so that may be the area to work on.
Boyland wrote following his debut in the third round of the cup that he had initially looked ‘shaky’, but he now appears to be building his confidence, with Saturday’s display the first step in the right direction.
In other news, Everton are in the race for an out-of-window signing.