Everton transfer confusion cannot be ignored after stunning change and disconsolate reaction
Everton verdict after the 1-1 draw with Sunderland in the Premier League
23:23, 03 Nov 2025
As this game entered its final minutes, Thierno Barry sat on the Everton bench looking disconsolate. Hands clasped, gaze distant, the 23-year-old appeared as though he was carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. He may well have been.
His side were dominating the Premier League’s upstarts when he flashed a glorious opportunity wide of Robin Roefs goal and all of a sudden this match turned. For the first half an hour, David Moyes’ outfit played with an authority and an intelligence that had an opponent flush with confidence losing discipline and chasing shadows.
Iliman Ndiaye gave Everton a deserved lead with another sublime goal – one in which Barry, a handful in the early stages, helped to create. Jack Grealish was inches from adding a second but was thwarted by the post. Everton were vibrant, assertive and composed inside a fervent Stadium of Light.
OPINION
components.molecules.ReadMore: David Moyes explains Dwight McNeil change as Everton wait on Iliman Ndiaye injury update
Everton’s two strikers have struggled to find the ruthlessness needed to push this side forward. Beto has just one Premier League goal to his name and a highlights reel of gilt-edged misses in games his side went on to drop points in. Barry now has his own horror show. Everton would no doubt have more points – and the fanbase would certainly feel more comfortable with this period of transition – had some of those chances gone in. That they have proved so costly is not just down to the forwards though. It is down to a team that is finding it difficult to turn good periods into match-winning performances. There may be a clinical edge that is missing, but the limitations extend beyond that. Put simply, not all of Everton’s problems can be laid at the door of Beto and Barry.
There is a lack of resilience that is proving worrisome given that has been the team’s core strength through recent years of hardship. Granit Xhaka provided the equaliser that thwarted any attempt from Everton to reassert themselves after a torrid end to the first half. Ndiaye had been the magician in the opening 45 minutes but Michael Keane was the hero, ending the half with a series of crucial tackles and clearances, most importantly when he stepped across to block Wilson Isidor’s shot when he was bearing down on Jordan Pickford’s goal.
Xhaka scored an equaliser that came with a heavy dose of luck given it was heading into Pickford’s grasp before a hearty deflection from Jordan Pickford. He also provided the calm head, the leadership and the quality in the middle of the pitch that Everton missed after they lost momentum with Barry’s miss.
Everton spent most of the second half in a fight for survival. Sunderland created few clear cut chances but unlike the hallmark of recent seasons, this was a display of panic, of bouncing balls wreaking havoc and of Everton’s back four and midfield repeatedly causing their own issues.
The lack of control at any stage in the second half should worry Moyes. Yes, this was a tough place to come against a team in good form, backed by a raucous home crowd and with the momentum behind them. But the drop off from the first 30 minutes was severe.
“It is a good point, to be fair”, Sunderland manager Regis le Bris said in his post-match press conference. It is a verdict that deserves to be recognised and taken into account amid the fallout from this result and performance from an Everton perspective.
It is a draw that holds value for Everton too. But it is hard to escape that Everton leave the north east with more questions than answers. What can you do if your strikers are not scoring? Why did their performance fall apart in such dramatic fashion? And what should supporters make of the summer signings?
That last one feels most pertinent. For all that Grealish has shone and others have impressed in moments, Moyes’ use of his bench was a point of intrigue. When Ndiaye left the pitch with what it is hoped was just cramp, the call to replace him with Dwight McNeil felt stunning given how little he has played this season. This was another match in which Merlin Rohl and Tyler Dibling stayed on the bench. The away end had chanted Carlos Alcaraz’s name for an age before he was asked to wrestle control of this match from Xhaka and co.
Moyes has the luxury of having a squad with talent and depth but right now is not exploiting it. With Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye set to head off to the Africa Cup of Nations soon, that too feels like a red flag.
This is not a time for panic. Everton are making progress. This point will feel a much better one if it is followed by a win against Fulham next week. But it would be naive to pretend there are not problems. And too many are self-inflicted.
