The hosts imposed themselves from the very first whistle, with Everton struggling to get any meaningful possession and doing anything possible to slow the game down - Anthony Gordon was proving particularly unpopular for his antics. When the Toffees finally managed to make a serious foray forward in the 17th minute, Alex Iwobi threaded a pass through that narrowly evaded Diego Llorente to find Gordon, who coolly finished to score in back-to-back matches.
Leeds continued to play on the front foot and Jack Harrison’s cross came inches away from finding Rodrigo’s outstretched boot in front of goal. The hosts’ frustrations were epitomised by Jesse Marsch constantly pointing to his watch, and their evening got even worse when in-form Rodrigo was forced off due to a shoulder injury following a collision with Jordan Pickford. Despite more Leeds pressure, Meslier was fortunate not to concede again when his pass went straight to Gordon’s feet shortly before HT.
Leeds carried on coming after the restart with Brenden Aaronson and Harrison both being denied by Pickford. The hosts eventually got their reward in the 55th minute, as Luis Sinisterra received the ball from Aaronson and wrongfooted Pickford to mark his first PL start with a goal. Demarai Gray thought he’d restored Everton’s lead when he latched onto Gordon’s through ball and finished, but he was caught offside by the finest of margins. At the other end, Joe Gelhardt managed to get behind James Tarkowski but was stopped by impressive goalkeeping from Pickford.
Amadou Onana and Nathan Patterson both had late opportunities to steal the three points for the Toffees but were denied, as Everton remained one of three teams still waiting for their first PL win of the season. Meanwhile, Leeds missed their opportunity to win three straight opening home games for the first time since 2009/10, when they were still in League One.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Brenden Aaronson (Leeds United)
