View: Everton duo did Hill Dickinson futures no harm with Liverpool performances

Jake O’Brien and Vitalii Mykolenko performed well against Liverpool, and should have seen their chances of securing their respective Everton futures boosted as such.

O’Brien has been Everton’s primary starting right-back this season, with the 24-year-old in his second campaign with the Toffees since his summer 2024 move from Lyon.

Meanwhile, Mykolenko is now coming towards the conclusion of his fourth full season on Merseyside, having joined Everton in January 2022 from Dynamo Kyiv.

He’s also heading towards the end of his contract which expires this summer, whilst O’Brien has until the summer of 2028 on his deal, but inconsistent performances this term have threatened his chances of seeing that out.

But, both full-backs enjoyed impressive displays in Everton’s defeat to Liverpool, potentially making Hill Dickinson Stadium chiefs’ summer decisions on them both that little bit harder.

How well did Jake O’Brien perform against Liverpool?

O’Brien has faced significant Everton criticism this season, and many expected David Moyes to bring in a right-back at some point this term in order to bolster his options in that department.

However, reinforcements didn’t arrive, and O’Brien has continued to plug away there in the hopes he can convince Everton decision-makers that he’s the right man for the job.

The Irish international should’ve given his chances of doing exactly that absolutely no harm on Sunday either, as he dealt well with Liverpool’s attacking threats all game.

Indeed, as per Sofascore, O’Brien won six of his seven aerial duels and three of his four ground duels, whilst also making five clearances, two recoveries, two blocked shots and one interception.

Going forward, he played one key pass, completed his lone cross attempt accurately, was fouled three times, made nine total carries and took 53 total touches of the ball.

He was the player penalised for an offside call that wiped out Iliman Ndiaye’s first-half goal that would’ve given Everton the lead, but it was an extremely tight call, and not something you can massively hold against him.

Overall, it was a good display all things considered, winning the vast majority of his duels, and kept Liverpool’s Cody Gakpo largely quiet aside from his assist for Mohamed Salah’s goal.

Mykolenko made strong case for Everton contract vs Liverpool

On the opposite side of the Everton defence to O’Brien was Mykolenko, who has again been the Toffees’ left-back of choice this season.

The 26-year-old Ukrainian international, like O’Brien, has also had his issues remaining consistent with his performance levels week to week, but when he’s on his game, there’s certainly a player there.

And for the most part against Liverpool he absolutely was, making 12 defensive contributions, winning three of his four tackles and making six clearances against the Reds, as per Sofascore.

He also was not dribbled past once, won five of his six ground duels and his lone aerial duel, whilst also making four recoveries, two interceptions and carrying the ball 18 times.

Mykolenko was caught out for Liverpool’s first goal, with Salah goalside of him when the turnover down the Everton right occurred, but apart from that, he otherwise didn’t really put a foot wrong.

That moment probably served to overshadow what was actually a very good performance from Mykolenko, as that was Salah’s only shot on goal in the game.

So, whilst it ended in defeat and both had a moment they would like back, O’Brien and Mykolenko should come out of that Merseyside derby with more credit in the bank regarding their Hill Dickinson futures than what they started it with.

Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from the heart of Goodison Park.

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