One Everton flop put in a poor performance against the Seagulls.
On Saturday afternoon, Everton earned a point against Brighton & Hove Albion at Goodison Park.
The Toffees took a surprise early lead through Vitaliy Mykolenko, and just as it looked like the hosts had held on for an important three points, an Ashley Young own goal six minutes from time saved the Seagulls‘ blushes.
That equalizer rewarded their dominance throughout the game, with 80% possession and 866 passes to Everton’s 208, though Sean Dyche’s side did limit them to only seven shots on goal, demonstrating the strong defense formed under his stewardship.
According to Sofascore, James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite were at the heart of their defensive solidity, winning a combined six aerials, successfully completing seven long balls, and making three tackles.
However, not every player shone brightly against Brighton, with Jack Harrison registering fewer touches than goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and, as a result, letting the game slip away from him.
As a result, the on-loan Leeds United winger must be rested ahead of Everton’s trip to Crystal Palace next Saturday.
Harrison’s game against Brighton
Harrison had his most difficult afternoon at Goodison Park since arriving in the summer from Leeds.
While he was embarrassed to have had fewer touches than Pickford (28 / 43), he was wasteful on the rare occasions he touched the ball, particularly in the creative department, with a pass completion rate of 21%.
The 26-year-old failed to register a single shot on goal, but perhaps more concerningly, the quick-footed winger completed zero dribbles and provided little on the counter-attack, as Everton were forced to soak up pressure.
Harrison’s inaccuracies in possession were exemplified by his terrible final third product, skewing all three of his attempted long balls and giving Dominic Calvert-Lewin no ammunition into the box as he failed to plant a single cross into the corridor of uncertainty.
The £90,000-per-week wide man, who lost possession a whopping 17 times, managed to play the entire 90 minutes, highlighting the need for Dyche to strengthen in January.
Unfortunately for Harrison, this isn’t the first time he hasn’t provided a spark down the flank this season.
Harrison’s statistics this season
Harrison has one goal and two assists in five Premier League appearances for Everton.
While those are good numbers on paper, two of those three came in a 3-0 win over Bournemouth, who are struggling at the bottom of the table.
During his time in the Premier League with Leeds, he was described as “one of the best wingers” by left-back Junior Firpo, who used to scare defenders with his blistering pace and quick changes of direction.
Harrison has been unable to replicate a similar threat at Goodison Park, recording just 0.6 dribbles per game, 0.8 key passes, and a 68% pass completion, possibly due to the shackles of Dyche’s system.
According to FBref, the 5 foot 9 ace’s attacking metrics have dropped significantly in the last year, with him ranking in the bottom 38% of his positional peers across Europe’s top five leagues for progressive passes, bottom 33% for successful take-ons, and bottom 32% for non-penalty xG.
However, if the Englishman is to avoid being dropped by Dyche in the future, he must start to see an improvement in those metrics.
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