“We want to make things right” - Jake O’Brien confident in the team after loss to Leeds

Jake O’Brien believes that Everton can “make things right” as the players prepare for the first official game at Hill Dickinson Stadium against Brighton and Hove Albion on Sunday.

It will be a historic fixture for the Toffees, who are set to play in a new stadium for the first time in 133 years after bidding goodbye to Goodison Park last season. The Blues, however, need to quickly bounce back from their 1-0 loss to Leeds United in their opening fixture.

“We're going to go back and put things right come the weekend and make sure we come away with a result,” Jake O’Brien told evertontv.

“I think we just need to go back, get the fans back on our side, and know that we're good enough to come and get results. We need to do it early on in the season and not wait too long.”

Signed from Lyon in 2024, O’Brien broke into the starting XI following David Moyes’ return to the club earlier this year. Despite being a centre-back, the 24-year-old was mostly deployed as a right-back.

He played an instrumental role as David Moyes’ side enjoyed a strong finish to last season - winning eight Premier League games from February onwards, including three on the trot in their final fixtures.

Confident that the players can rediscover that form, O’Brien said, “We have a strong group, a strong core, and I think we've got to come to places like [Elland Road] and come away with three points. So it's very disappointing, so early on in the season that we haven't picked up points today.

“I think we have a strong enough group to go out there and get results. And I think [at Leeds], we weren't sharp enough, and we weren't at the standards that we can be.  

“We know this. We said we need to look at ourselves, go back to training and just come back and make things right next week.”

The curtain-raiser at Elland Road against Leeds United was not without its share of talking points. One of the biggest headlines from the game was the controversial penalty call that decided the match.

Despite having his arms in a natural position, James Tarkowski was adjudged to have handled the ball in his own box, leading to Lukas Nmecha scoring from 12 yards just six minutes before full-time.

“I think the penalty was very harsh,” said the defender. “There's no way he can put his arm in. It's a natural position. He went to block the ball. They took five minutes to look at it and they still couldn't see that.

“Besides this, I think we weren't at it. We weren't where we should be, we weren't sharp enough on the ball or off the ball. I think we just need to go back in training, look at ourselves and go again.”

 

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