Everton picked up their first win of the Premier League season with a battling 1-0 triumph against West Ham at Goodison Park on Sunday.
Neal Maupay’s second-half goal was enough for the Toffees to seal the win as they shot up the Premier League table ahead of the international break.
While the recent addition from Brighton will grab the headlines after his first goal for Everton, it was another summer signing who was arguably Lampard’s real hero against the Hammers.
James Tarkowski, who joined on a free transfer after leaving relegated Burnley, was in imperious form for the Toffees as they earned a second consecutive clean sheet of the campaign.
As per SofaScore, the centre-back would earn a superb 7.8/10 rating for his performance, which was the second best of any player on the pitch, with only goalkeeper Asmir Begovic rated higher.
Who was better vs West Ham?
During the game, Tarkowski contributed a remarkable nine clearances and blocked five shots, which was comfortably the most of any player on the pitch.
It was also an improvement on Tarkowski’s season average of six clearances and 2.1 blocked shots per game, which emphasises that he was well and truly on top of his game on Sunday afternoon.
The former Burnley man also impressed with his passing against the Hammers, completing 42/49 of his passes with a success rate of 86%, which again was an improvement on his performances from so far this season.
The 29-year-old’s average pass success rate has been 79.1%, which proves that he was much more reliable on the ball on Sunday afternoon, which again was vital as Everton saw out the victory.
While the Hammers were limited on chances in front of goal, Jarrod Bowen might have equalised if not for Tarkowski, as he importantly blocked the England winger’s goalbound shot in the second half.
The former Burnley man earned plenty of praise for his performance, with the defender earning an 8/10 match rating from the Liverpool Echo’s Chris Beesley, with the reporter stating of his display: “Everton’s rock at the back, he helped steady the ship and get his captain Coady out of jail after he trod on the ball and made several timely interceptions.”
The centre-back, who was dubbed “outstanding” by Sean Dyche, has enjoyed an excellent start to his Everton career and more performances like the one against West Ham will surely be vital in the Toffees staying well clear of relegation this season.
