Forget Richarlison: £120k-p/w EFC machine who won 86% duels proved Frank wrong vs Bees - opinion

Everton have comfortably progressed in the FA Cup, beating Brentford 4-1 at Goodison Park in Frank Lampard’s first game as manager, in a team performance the Toffees haven’t enjoyed for a while.

Yerry Mina, Richarlison, Mason Holgate and Andros Townsend all found the net in an attacking masterclass from Lampard’s team which saw them play much more offensively than they ever did under Rafael Benitez.

Brentford were incapable of breaking down the Toffees, with only two shots on target throughout the game, but were gifted a penalty by Jordan Pickford when the goalkeeper made a late challenge on Ivan Toney.

The former Chelsea boss set up his team with a back three, playing a 3-4-3 formation, and early in the first half there was another blow to the injury-ridden squad with Ben Godfrey sustaining what looked to be a calf injury in the first 12 minutes, so Lampard was duly forced to replace the defender with Mina.

The £120k-p/w machine missed out on the starting line-up, but he made sure he would use his opportunity to prove his new manager wrong on that decision by becoming an absolute force throughout the game both offensively and defensively in his position.

Mina opened the scoring for Everton. rising the highest when the ball was whipped in from the corner to find the back of the net just 16 minutes after he came off the bench, and he delivered a man of the match performance in his defensive position in the back three.

According to SofaScore, the 27 year old was the highest-rated player on the pitch this afternoon (7.70), winning 86% of his duels and completing 91% of his passes despite having fewer touches than his fellow defenders, proving that Lampard should think twice about leaving him on the bench in the future.

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