Idrissa Gueye made his Everton debut against Espanyol today.
Everton’s Idrissa Gueye in action
Everton lost 1-0 to Spanish side Espanyol in their final pre-season game of the summer, with Idrissa Gueye making his debut for the club.
A penalty from Leo Baptistao handed Espanyol the win, with Everton left frustrated at Goodison Park after Ross Barkley saw his own penalty kick saved by Roberto.
Everton manager Ronald Koeman
It’s now onto the Premier League next weekend, as Everton host Tottenham Hotspur in an enticing opening day game – but Everton will be disappointed to have lost in the build-up to that game.
Today’s match saw new signing Idrissa Gana Gueye make his debut for the Ronald Koeman’s men, having joined from Aston Villa earlier this week.
Stoke’s Charlie Adam in action with Idrissa Gueye
The Senegal international, 26, adds another body to Koeman’s options in midfield, but made a disastrous start to his lie at Goodison Park by giving away a penalty inside four minutes of his debut, which handed Espanyol what proved to be the winning goal.
From there though, Gueye did settle down and impressed in the heart of the Everton midfield, prompting words of support from Toffees fans after the game.
Idrissa Gueye in action for former club Aston Villa
Toffees fans acknowledged that, whilst Gueye did give away the penalty, he was ‘absolutely outstanding’, and already looks to be a bargain after Everton activated his £7.1m release clause at Villa.
Others noted that Gueye is ‘already a massive improvement on James McCarthy’ based on today’s performance, and his positive play going forward earned praise from fans on Twitter.
Here are some of the reactions on Twitter from Everton fans after Gueye’s debut against Espanyol…
What did you think of Gueye’s performance against Espanyol?
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