The Super Eagles winger played a crucial role as the Toffees came from behind to beat the Saints at Goodison Park
Everton started their Premier League campaign with a 3-1 win over Southampton, and in the mix of everything was Nigeria International Alex Iwobi. The Nigerian put up a remarkable shift as Rafael Benitez’s reign got off to a winning start.
The Merseyside club, who have been pushing for a spot in Europe in recent seasons, were the favourites going into the first game of the season.
Everything was going according to plan until Adam Armstrong’s 22nd minute put the Saints in front. The goal caused a dent in Everton’s confidence, and they struggled to match the Saints gameplay.
Benitez’s men struggled in the first half and their single shot on target summed up their poor performance.
The Toffees came out with more purpose in the second half, and it didn’t take long for them to exert their dominance in the game.
In the 47th minute, Andros Towsend played an excellent pass which Richarlison brilliantly received and slotted past Alex McCarthy in goal for Southampton.
Southampton were pegged back for most parts of the second half, but as the game went on, they felt more confident that they could take something out of the match.
However, in the 70th minute, Benitez decided to change things and brought on Alex Iwobi in place of Andros Townsend.
The Nigerian only needed six minutes to make his manager proud as he fed Abdoulaye Doucoure with a well-weighted pass which the latter slotted calmly in the net to make it 2-1.
With nothing to lose, Hasenhuttl’s men decided to go all out to restore parity. However, it didn’t work out for them as Calvert Lewin rose spectacularly to head in Richarlison’s cross.
The game ended 3-1, and Iwobi would be proud of his gameplay as his introduction to the game helped to change the status quo.
This post was last modified on August 14, 2021 7:57 pm