What we learned: Everton 1-1 Lille

(Photo by Jan Kruger/Getty Images)

Everton’s pre-season preparations rounded off with a 1-1 draw against Lille at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday.

Iliman Ndiaye scored a first-half penalty, Everton squandered a fair few chances to add to their lead and, with the last kick of the game, Lille — coached by former Everton assistant manager Davide Ancelotti — equalised.

Here’s a few things we learned.

EVERTON DON’T LOOK UNDERCOOKED

By the start of last season, Everton simply weren’t ready.

They had not done enough with their recruitment in getting players in early, and they looked badly undercooked when they faced Leeds United at Elland Road.

This time around, things seem different. While the Toffees are still far from perfect, they have had enough minutes in the legs, enough testing games and a rigorous training regime over the course of the summer.

Jarrad Branthwaite has made it through unscathed, and keep him fit will be absolutely crucial as Everton look to make a positive start.

DIBLING HAS CONFIDENCE

The final pre-season friendly is usually when the players who seem destined to start the first game of the season, end up getting their chance from the off as a unit.

And so it was perhaps somewhat surprising to see Tyler Dibling start over Tyrique George.

But Dibling did well, and really started to show the kind of direct play he was brought in to provide. David Moyes wants Dibling to be positive in attack, and the youngster showed what he is capable of with more slick dribbling and some excellent shots from range.

Whether Moyes has the confidence to stick with him for the Crystal Palace game, over reverting to Merlin Röhl playing on the right, remains to be seen, but Dibling has really come on over the past couple of weeks.

EVERTON LOOK DANGEROUS 

Even with some key players, like James Garner and Christin Nørgaard (who is expected to be a key performer) to come back, Everton have really looked sharp at times in attack this pre-season.

The finishing touch hasn’t always been there — as evidenced by Harrison Armstrong’s glaring miss in the second half — but the approach play and fluidity has been.

It’s very early days, but in that regard, the signs are promising.

Everton’s focus in the final weeks of the transfer window now must be on improving their full-back options, with the priority of course being at right-back. 

Make a decision, and get the players in. No more messing around, because there is a core of a decent squad here, but those missing pieces are vital.

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