Everton slipped to a 1-0 defeat in a cagey game against Leeds United.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side held on until the 78th minute when Raphinha struck from outside the penalty area with a shot which beat Jordan Pickford.

The result continues a concerning run of form for the Blues with the Yorkshire side inflicting their fourth defeat from their last five Premier League games.

Here were the key talking points from Goodison Park:

A very different ‘Battle of Goodison’

 

It is a tale which has gone down in English footballing folklore.

A newly-promoted Leeds United snatching a 1-0 win at Everton is hardly a phenomenon – the last time it happened, it went down in football folklore.

Now as then, nasty challenges still manifested with James Rodriguez on the receiving end of head-handed tackles from Ezgjan Alioski and Kalvin Phillips.

But this was a very different ‘Battle of Goodison’ compared to its 1964 infamy.

Carlo Ancelotti’s admiration for Marcelo Bielsa meant the first-ever meeting between the pair lived up to expectations with an end-to-end contest.

That it took until the 78th minute before Raphinha opened the scoring is testament to the goalkeeping exploits of Jordan Pickford and Illan Meslier.

Everton and Leeds may not be the sworn enemies of their Sixties’ heyday but the fire clearly still burns brightly in their on-field feud over half a century on.

Allan the Great

 

Few wearing the royal blue shirt in this game emerged with any real credit.

Allan, however, proved an exception to the rule with a near-flawless display where he provided composure and drive from the heart of Everton’s midfield.

Twice in the second half alone, the Brazil international gave Leeds genuine cause for concern with surging runs which narrowly failed to find the target.

His role in teeing up Richarlison did not go unnoticed, either, despite his compatriot seeing that effort from the edge of the area denied by Meslier.

Allan has visibly struggled in recent weeks as he battled to shake off the knock which plagued him near the end of last month’s Merseyside derby.

With those issues now seemingly over, Ancelotti’s ex-Napoli lieutenant is not only back to his best but also offering another string to his impressive bow.

Doucoure shows his limitations

 

Watford has given Everton some of their best and worst exports in recent years.

In Richarlison, the now-Championship outfit produced a qualified success but former manager Marco Silva undoubtedly remains consigned to the dustbin.

Abdoulaye Doucoure is currently on course to join Ancelotti’s predecessor in the latter category after yet another lacklustre display from the midfielder.

He wasted a clear-cut goal scoring opportunity early in the first half by fluffing his lines after Tom Davies had played an inch-perfect pass in front of goal.

Arguably, expectations around Doucoure’s formative months on Merseyside have been discoloured by the flying start that Richarlison continues to enjoy.

But he is a very different beast to the Brazilian and there is a reason why he operated in a team perennially mired in a Premier League relegation battle.

Maybe it should not come as a surprise that the Frenchman appears sub-par.

Trial and error for Blues’ wing-backs

 

Injuries have forced Ancelotti to improvise with Everton’s line-ups of late.

The wing-back system which proved so inspired against Fulham did not have the same effect with Lucas Digne now laid up for potentially two months.

Alex Iwobi, arguably the standout performer at Craven Cottage last weekend, failed to fill the left-back void in place of the sidelined France international.

On the opposing flank, Davies fared far better and produced a gutsy display in which he not only creative opportunities but largely prevented them also.

The homegrown midfielder is often maligned for supposedly not meeting the standards expected by Evertonians when representing his boyhood club.

Yet there can be few complaints about Davies’ input here with Leeds failing to exploit him as a weakness when mounting attacks down their left-hand side.

Trial and error remains the order of business for Ancelotti’s experimentation. Working out which players suit the relevant positions will clearly take time.