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News
Danny Murphy blown away by £16m Everton player’s ‘wonderful’ passing against Burnley yesterday
On another excellent evening for Sean Dyche’s Everton side against Burnley yesterday, Danny Murphy was so impressed by one player.
Dyche’s side walked away with a deserved 2-0 win on his return to Turf Moor which made it four clean sheets in a row for the club.
Speaking on the BBC’s after the game, Murphy was amazed by Dyche’s Everton game plan, one Burnley failed to deal with.
And Murphy was particularly impressed with Everton wing-back Nathan Patterson, who was unlucky to not grab an assist.
Murphy said: “The game plan was executed superbly well considering they didn’t have time, and I’ll show you why.
“It was mainly through the wide areas, they changed to three at the back, two holding players in front, which they like, two wide men, and then he pushed two, [James] Garner and [Jack] Harrison higher to support [Dominic] Calvert-Lewin and create two vs ones down the side.
“You could tell Burnley didn’t expect Everton to play this way because they were all over the place.”
Murphy continued: “But they didn’t fix the problem, they were at sixes and sevens, again you can see in these wider areas, open space, another terrific ball from Patterson who came in today.”
And he finished by saying: “The [Everton] wing-backs really enjoyed it, they played with good energy, they played on the front foot, and this here is a wonderful cross [from Patterson], you expect Calvert-Lewin to score.”
Danny Murphy thought Sean Dyche’s Everton game plan helped Nathan Patterson excel at Burnley
Although not always in the team this season, 22-year-old Patterson seems to be making a lot of progress.
Dyche is known to be very demanding of his defenders, who do need to be faultless at the back.
And perhaps this rare chance as a wing-back suited Patterson’s expansive skill set perfectly.
Since signing for from Glasgow Rangers, Patterson has had some excellent moments, but has perhaps struggled for consistency.
However, yesterday’s showing proved what a huge asset the Scot can still be for this Everton side.
Murphy expertly demonstrated how Dyche’s game plan got the most out of Patterson for Everton against Burnley.
And despite all of the changes, it’s clear that the manager now has a squad invested in his every word – something evident in the recent good results.
Moreover, at the risk of sharing too much good news, Everton are also now back in the race to sign a £20m striker in January.