Norwich City and Everton played out an entertaining 2-2 draw on the opening day of the Premier League season this afternoon.
The Canaries went in to the lead five minutes after the restart when Steven Whittaker rolled in a rebound having hit the inside of the post seconds earlier.
Everton hit back with a quick-fire double just after the hour mark, however. First Ross Barkley thumped a fine effort past John Ruddy from the edge of the box and then Seamus Coleman tapped in a parried Nikica Jelavic shot.
Norwich new boy Ricky van Wolfswinkel came to the rescue, though, nodding his side level with just under 20 minutes to go to secure a point.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at a thrilling 90 minutes at Carrow Road.
Match statistics:
Norwich:
Shots 8
On target 2
Possession 44%
Corners 6
Fouls 13
Everton:
Shots 19
On target 6
Possession 56%
Corners 8
Fouls 10
Was the result fair?
The statistics are all in favour of Everton, and for good reason. In terms of general play, the Toffees were comfortably the better side for large periods of the match, particularly in the first half. However, for all of their possession, they struggled to create clear-cut chances. The match was a lot more even if you look at how many good chances both sides made, which speaks volumes for how well Norwich defended for large periods. Overall, Everton perhaps deserved to win the match, but a draw was by no means a completely unjust result.
Norwich's performance
Manager Chris Hughton will be happy enough with his side's performance today. They were forced to defend in numbers for much of the first half and they did so very well. Everton had a lot of the ball but failed to break the Norwich defence down. They came into the match more in an attacking sense in the second half and, although still second best for much of it, looked dangerous on the break and were clinical with their two goals. Certainly a better start to the season than the 5-0 drubbing they suffered at the hands of Fulham last year.
Everton's performance
Everton played some nice, free-flowing football and it was obvious to see the impact that new manager Roberto Martinez has made already. They knocked the ball about nicely, but one thing that could worry the Spaniard is their lack of cutting edge in the first half. They were better in the second period and had a great chance to win the chance when both Steven Naismith and Jelavic were denied from close range late on, but it took a long time for them to create a good scoring chance. Still, plenty of positives to take from the match for the Toffees.
Sports Mole's man of the match
Ross Barkley: Barkley may not have started had Darron Gibson been fully fit, but he certainly staked a claim for a regular starting spot this afternoon. The youngster was a real driving force for Everton and always looked capable of making something happen when he got on the ball. This was perfectly demonstrated for his goal, which was a fine strike and a perfect way to open his Premier League account.
Biggest gaffe
Both sides will be happy with the distinct lack of gaffes in this afternoon's game, but the award has to go to someone so Naismith and Jelavic can share it for their late misses. The ball fell to Naismith on the edge of the six-yard box in the 79th minute but he failed to beat the keeper, while Jelavic was no more successful from the rebound as his shot was blocked. It was probably more good defending than poor finishing, but they still should have scored.
Referee performance
Michael Oliver did not have a lot to do this afternoon, and he will be happy with having got through the first game of the season without any controversies. He marshalled the game efficiently and was not overly generous with his cards either, so a decent enough game for the man in the middle.
What next?
Norwich: Next up for the Canaries is an away trip to Premier League newcomers Hull City next Saturday.
Everton: Everton, meanwhile, will welcome Premier League football back to Goodison Park when they take on West Brom, also on Saturday.
Barney Corkhill
