Live Blog

Fulltime Thoughts - Inchy’s side were well-drilled and did a great job pressuring Everton, very deserving of their win. For Lampard, still lots to do. That’s just us being charitable this late at night. Good night Blues.

90’ - Final whistle, and not a minute too soon, 4-0 the final score.

89’ - Delightful cross through the box by Nkounkou, but no one can get on the end of it.

82’ - Full-blooded challenge between Dele and Hayes, and the Loon has come off second-best. He’s being helped off while Dele also looks in rough shape.

77’ - Benitez wide open on the right, his low cross is met by Danladi who gets in ahead of Mina and it’s 4-0. LOL.

74’ - Oh my goodness. Good work from Holgate and he fires a low shot through the box and the completely unmarked Dele somehow contrives to get his touch wrong and wide, from less than a yard out!!

70’ - Jackson’s hammered shot is blocked well by Godfrey and it flies just wide of the post. The resulting corner is cleared.
Warrington has looked good but is coming off now for Isaac Price. Hope he’s okay.

65’ - Lewis Dobbin and Stanley Mills come on for Gray and Gordon.

63’ - The Blues have looked better but again in front of goal look lost.

57’ - Gordon goes down very easily under pressure, in the box no less and the ref is not giving him a penalty. Stuff like this does not make him look good.

53’ - Neat inter-play in the box sees a goalbound shot from Gordon is blocked for a corner. Corner is overhit, Mina tries to retrieve but Minnesota clear eventually.
The Blues have the hosts hemmed into their box, but Gray flays his shot wide.

50’ - Now Dele with a good low cross into the box that Rondon can’t get to.
Gordon gets another cross towards Rondon and a defender’s touch nudges it just past the striker’s reach.

48’ - Dele chooses to play Gordon in when he could have shot, Gordon’s cross is blocked for a corner. Gray to take, cleared and the hosts break, winning a corner.
Good cross into the box and the diminutive Crellin is nowhere near it, and a Minnesota header comes back off the underside of the bar! Whew.

46’ - Lucky bounce falls to an open Gray behind the backline and just needed a touch to score.. and missed it.

Wholesale changes for both sides as we have nearly 22 new players on the pitch. So far I see Gordon & Gray still on, will update you as I see more.
Niels Nkounkou, Lewis Warrington, Mason Holgate, Jean-Philippe Gbamin, Dele, Yerry Mina, Ben Godfrey, Billy Crellin and Salomon Rondon are the changes.

Halftime Thoughts - No surprises here really from Everton as the attack lacks any cohesion, the midfielders are headless chickens, and the defenders all look like it’s the first time they’ve seen each other.

45’ - Halftime, and the hosts lead 3-0. Scoreline flatters the Loons, but credit to them, they took their chances as they were presented to them by shambolic defending from the Blues.

44’ - Hlongwane shot deflects off Keane for yet another corner. Pickford is livid at the midfield. Poor low corner is cleared eventually by Patterson.

40’ - Hayes gets in a tangle with Gordon and the Everton player wins another freekick from the same spot. Nonsensical short-pass sequence leads to a Loons counter.

36’ - More shambolic defending from Everton and the Loons now lead 3-0. No words.
The United player on the left was wide open, his shot was deflected by Mykolenko, Pickford threw up a despairing glove and it fell perfectly for Hlongwane who easily beat Tarkowski on the goal-line.

35’ - A rasping shot from Gray flies just over.

32’ - Inchy’s team are doing well to pass the ball around under Everton’s full court press.
Oof, just like that, the Loons now lead 2-0. Tarkowski made a critical mistake pushing up for an interception, leaving the Blues a man short and as the low cross comes in, Keane mishits his clearances and bundles it past Pickford.

28’ - It’s been all Everton since the goal as the Loons are happy to sit back and hit them on the counter.
Hayes brings Gordon down just outside the box. Gray to take, finds DCL’s head but he can’t make enough contact to move it goalwards.

24’ - Gordon gets behind the defence on the Everton left, but can’t bring down the ball. He looks to have switched to the left now.
Patterson loses the ball in a dangerous area but does well twice to dissuade his man from getting a pass off.

20’ - Tarkowski chased by the Loons dangerman Reynoso, who gets too close and feels the pain of the Everton defender’s cleats. He goes off hobbling.

18’ - A quick change of directions allows Minnesota to win a corner, taken short and partly cleared.
A shot from close range by Reynoso comes off Davies’ arm and the ref says penalty! Not much he could do about that from that close, but it was away from his body. Sends Pickford the wrong way, and the hosts lead 1-0.

16’ - Gordon shoots way over and then DCL with all the time in the world sends his left-footer straight at the goalie.

14’ - Long ball for the Loons and a Keane mistake! His poor touch allows Hlongwane to gather the ball in the box but his shot is blocked by a great tackle from Tarkowski, and the rebound is saved by Pickford for a corner which the Blues eventually collect.

10’ - Deflected shot leads to a Loons corner. Tricky corner into the six-yard box, Pickford does well to punch away and Iwobi clears.
Big save from Pickford prevents a half-volley going in, and the resulting corner is hoofed well over.

6’ - End-to-end action here. Two crosses into the box that needed a touch goalwards. Blues looking decent so far.
Gray fires a shot on goal from distance, straight at the goalie.

4’ - Iwobi starts the play and almost ends it with a goal too! He makes a run down the left and crosses in, Doucoure sets up Gordon for the low cross-shot that is inches past DCL and Iwobi, out for a corner that is cleared.

3’ - Mykolenko gives up a corner after shielding his man well, poorly taken and cleared.

1’ - Gordon gets us underway!
Definitely a 4-3-3, with Gordon on the right, Gray on the left.

This is not far from Lampard’s strongest lineup — which is worrying in itself — and the formation that we hope to see once the regular season commences. Big chance for Iwobi to show today that he can dictate the pace of a game.

Interestingly, ESPN has the Blues lined up as a 4-4-2 with Gordon up top with DCL, though they’ve mixed up Patterson and Mykolenko.

Starting Lineups

Frank Lampard has picked his starting XI and it looks like a 4-3-3, with Tarkowski and Mina in the middle of the backline, and Patterson and Mykolenko as fullbacks. Davies centres a midfield with Doucoure and Iwobi, and Gray and Gordon flanking Calvert-Lewin up top.

Everton

Minnesota United

Match Preview

Everton continue their pre-season preparations in the United States with a second friendly game tonight, this time taking on MLS side Minnesota United in Minneapolis.

The Blues lost their first game against Arsenal, but should look a lot more cohesive tonight. Manager Frank Lampard has continued to put the squad through their paces as they look to build their fitness, but has been unable to add to his roster with defender James Tarkowski the only new signing.

The hosts tonight are managed by former Blue Adrian Heath and sit in fourth place in the Western Conference of the MLS, well-placed for a playoff berth. The Loons were eliminated by eventual runners-up Portland Timbers in the first round of the last post-season.

Team News

Andre Gomes and Nathan Broadhead have not been seen in the training videos and pictures released by the club, while goalkeeper Asmir Begovic continues to recover from an ankle sprain that has him wearing a protective boot.

Lampard will likely make some changes to the XI that started on Saturday, and once again could change the entire lineup for the second half to ensure everyone gets adequate playing time. The fans will be eager to see some improvement as far as ball possession and movement today, and it will be interesting to see if the manager starts off with a 3-4-3/5-4-1 again.

For the Loons who are midway through their season, the injury list is a tad but longer - K. Arriaga - Ankle, H. Dotson - Knee (out for the season), R. Metanire - Thigh, T. Oluwaseyi - Thigh, W. Trapp - Thigh & P. Weah - Knee.

Match Details

Competition: Summer 2022 pre-season friendly #2

Date and start time: Wednesday, July 20th at 5:00 p.m. PT / 8:00 p.m ET / 1:00 a.m. BST* (Thursday)

Stadium: Allianz Field, Minneapolis, MN, USA

Capacity: 19,400

Weather: 86°F/30°C, clear, 20% chance of precipitation, 18 mph winds

How to Watch/Listen

TV: ESPN+ - United States; N/A - United Kingdom

Radio: evertontv

Live stream: evertontv

Gamethread: Live blog above starting one hour before game time

*Royal Blue Mersey has affiliate partnerships and may earn commissions for products purchased via affiliate links provided.

Information from LiveSoccerTV.com

Last Meeting

The two teams have never played each other - the Loons are coming off a 2-0 win over bottom-side D.C. United where former Blue Wayne Rooney has just taken over, while the Blues slipped to a 2-0 defeat against Arsenal over the weekend.