The brand new season of the Premier League has already started to create a riveting buzz across the globe. While there have been games in the first game week where a galore of goals were witnessed, Stoke City’s trip to the Goodison Park was, however, a tight affair as the home side clinched a slender 1-0 victory.
One of the most galvanising signings this summer for Everton was Wayne Rooney, and it was the former Manchester United veteran who broke the deadlock as he banged his 199th Premier League goal just before the half time. The clinical header by Rooney eventually proved to be the winning goal, although the visitors did show positive intent throughout the game.
The Potters, notably, didn’t stop trying and pleased the spectators to a significant extent with their passes and movement. However, what they lacked was the cutting edge in the final third and the inability to penetrate in the final third. Nonetheless, there is no need to panic as the season is just in its germinating stage.
Here are our Stoke City’s players’ ratings from their defeat this weekend:
Jack Butland 7/10
Butland failed to maintain his composure whilst Rooney banged in the winning goal as he was off balance. The custodian, otherwise, looked quite sharp and aware.
Kurt Zouma 7/10
Apart from one instance in the second half when he was caught horribly in possession, Zouma was fine and made a fine tackle on Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Ryan Shawcross 7.5/10
Shawcross was sound in the air, read the game perfectly and made 3 tackles, 4 interceptions and 4 clearances to carve for himself a decent day at the office.
Geoff Cameron 7/10
Looked assured at the back, but should have done a bit more while going forward.
Mame Diouf 7/10
The Senegalese was a livewire throughout the game, making a lot of offensive as well as defensive contributions.
Darren Fletcher 7.5/10
Against the Blues, Fletcher put forth his wide array of passes and orchestrated the midfield setup of Mark Hughes in a convincing manner.
Joe Allen 6/10
The Welshman was inept whilst passing the ball around and failed to muster anything substantial for his side.
Erik Pieters 6.5/10
Pieters put in few good crosses (not many) and did offer himself as an overlap as left wing-back.
Xherdan Shaqiri 7/10
He kept himself involved in the attacking sector and made it hard for Everton’s defenders to keep a check on him.
Bojan 6/10
It was a game of two contrasting halves for Bojan who was invigorating in the first and utterly dull in the second.
Saido Berahino 6/10
Berahino wasn’t offered many chances by his teammates and frankly speaking, he didn’t look sharp either.
Substitutions
Peter Crouch 6/10
Crouch was brought on after Berahino was taken off and just like the other attackers, his toils were futile as he failed to get on the scoresheet.
Eric-Maxim Choupo-Moting 7/10
Although he had around 20 minutes to showcase himself, his enthusiasm and involvement in the closing stages must have impressed Stoke City fans.