Although Everton’s loss to Manchester City yesterday was unfortunate, the damage had already been done once they fell behind.
They are accustomed to pushing ahead and maintaining leads, so it is not unexpected that their attempts to close losses are far less successful. particularly against the champions, who had waited seventy minutes for the breakthrough before giving up.Erling Halaand, on the right foot, made no mistake when Jarrad Branthwaite’s feeble clearing dropped to him after a furious scramble in the area from Julian Alvarez’s corner.
Jordan Pickford had little chance, and the goal stood despite disagreement over the corner’s call.
Martin Keown, nevertheless, didn’t believe that this was the 21-year-old center defender’s worst error. Rather, he tried to sketch out another
What Martin Keown said about Jarrad Branthwaite
As a former centre-back himself, the 57-year-old knows a thing or two about defending, even if his talents were moulded in an era more focused on bruising the opponents than brushing them aside with grace.
Regardless, his view is well-respected, and he did enjoy four years at Goodison Park before making the profitable move to George Graham’s Arsenal.
Speaking last night on BBC Match of the Day, he would examine Branthwaite’s actions in the face of such a formidable striker, concentrating on the second goal.
He suggested that the young titan got it all wrong against Erling Haaland. Keown claimed: ‘This is a young player that was playing exceptionally well Branthwaite, and for me, he just looks over the wrong shoulder for too long.
‘He’s looking at the ball, De Bruyne comes on, and we know he’s got to be red alert, danger all around you, Haaland’s quick, strong, and he’s making a really good run. His movement, I have to say, is excellent.
‘But when you take a look at Branthwaite, he sets his body up sideways on, he’s looking for that run there, now at this point, as that run starts to come across back the other way, I think he should be turning his body shape towards Haaland.
‘He doesn’t do it, and because he doesn’t do it there’s a big gap that opens up. He’s got to learn from that. These are little bits that he can improve on.’
How did Jarrad Branthwaite play vs Manchester City?
Whilst both goals could be attributed to his actions, it would be harsh to solely lay the blame at his feet.
After all, the first saw a side slow to react to chaos, and the second goal brutally showcased Branthwaite’s lack of experience at the top level. Give the £35k-a-week star one or two more years in the Premier League and that will likely never happen again.
Naïve and perhaps rushed under the intense pressure City put teams under, he still remained largely solid throughout, making numerous key interactions to thwart the hosts.
Five clearances, four tackles, two blocks, and a 75% success rate in the duels he participated in are impressive stats that show how the game progressed, according to Sofascore.
He was ultimately the one to lose focus and undo his side, which made it nasty and unrelenting.
But without him, they would not have held out for so long. Hopefully, as Keown states, this will serve as a learning experience for the enormous defender who still has the entire world at his disposal.
