Everton vs. Juventus: 5 Toffees Who Impressed Most Against the Bianconeri

Everton claimed a memorable scalp in preseason with a penalty shootout win over a strong Juventus side in San Francisco.

While little relevance can be based on friendly results, the Toffees can take a lot from what was an impressive all-round performance.

Roberto Martinez's side took the lead through a fine individual strike from Kevin Mirallas on the hour mark, before Kwadwo Asamoah equalised during the closing stages to force penalties.

Leon Osman and Andrea Pirlo exchanged misses in the ensuing shootout before Federico Peluso saw his effort saved by Tim Howard in sudden death, handing Everton a 6-5 win.

Roberto Martinez lined his side up in a fluid 3-4-3 system as follows:

Tim Howard; John Stones, Phil Jagielka, Sylvain Distin; Seamus Coleman, Darron Gibson, Marouane Fellaini, Leighton Baines; Kevin Mirallas, Victor Anichebe, Steven Pienaar.

Leon Osman, Bryan Oviedo and Ross Barkley all emerged from the bench in one of the more competitive friendlies to be seen this summer.

The majority of Everton's XI impressed during this game, but here's a look at the five best performers in royal blue.

John Stones

No player's reputation soared anywhere near as much as John Stones' did after the game.

The main reason for this was his cheeky, Pirlo-esq Paneka that helped seal the victory, but his overall contribution was high class in one of his first starts for the Toffees.

He was arguably Everton's most composed defender on the ball and made several crucial interventions, including an eye-catching last-ditch tackle on Asamoah. He also came inches away from opening the scoring when his first-half header came back off a post.

Everton played the majority of the match with a back three, with Stones starting as the right-sided centre-back. His competency at right-back allowed his side to slip seamlessly into a back four during certain phases, as Coleman pushed upfield—something that Martinez will presumably wish to toy with a bit more.

The Toffees' manager is clearly a fan of Stones, having attempted to buy him before he joined Everton. If this performance is anything to go by, expect the youngster to have an increasing role over this coming season.

Kevin Mirallas

Mirallas' performance was typical in the way that, for long periods of the game he was virtually anonymous, before a sudden quick touch or darting run saw him burst into life.

After a subdued first half spent on the periphery of play, he first grabbed attention by collecting a long ball from Distin, striding through one-on-one with the goalkeeper and forcing Marco Storari into a decent save.

Not long after that the Belgian took the game by the scruff of the neck and produced a piece of individual brilliance to cut in and score, giving his side a surprise lead.

During the final stages he was an increasingly effective outlet on the break, putting a fine cross in for Oviedo to head at goal and testing Storari a couple more times late on.

Mirallas has the explosive qualities every top team craves in their attacking players. While he will go through quieter phases and seem slightly off the pace at times, it seems a flash of genius is never too far away.

So far, he's been one of the Toffees' best players during preseason.

Tim Howard

Playing in front of a passionately supportive crowd, who continually broke out into chants of "USA, USA" whenever Howard was involved, the American produced a top-class display.

His form last season wasn't consistently up to his high standards, but in this match he produced exactly the type of commanding performance he would have wanted, especially following Joel Robles' arrival at the club.

The American's involvement increased as the match went on and he pulled off several impressive saves—including a diving stop to parry an Arturo Vidal free-kick and a double save to thwart first Carlos Tevez and then Mirko Vucinic.

He was also surprisingly efficient when joining in the passing game at the back and rounded off the night by saving the decisive penalty.

Phil Jagielka

Jagielka didn't produce a catalogue of stunning moments, but he was quietly assured and became progressively influential as Juventus pressed late on.

Starting his first season as club captain, a lot is expected of Jagielka, especially with his new manager not exactly famed for his defensive record.

However, Martinez hasn't worked alongside a centre-back with as much ability as the England international and the way he marshalled his troops and kept his back three, or five, organised—in a completely new system—was exactly what his manager would have hoped for.

He made a typical collection of interceptions, blocks and clearances, but his overall influence on the team was perhaps his best and most important contribution.

One of David Moyes' final actions was to install Jagielka as club captain and it may prove to be one of his wisest moves.

Roberto Martinez

Roberto Martinez deserves a lot of plaudits for the way his team are responding to him in preseason.

It's still early days, but he's already made the Toffees' attack appear like a breath of fresh air, with patient build up, bright, clever movement and a short passing philosophy at the basis of it all.

Added to that, his side are clearly motivated and just as committed off the ball. Energetic throughout, they continually pressed Juventus in this match, often causing the Bianconeri to loft a long ball aimlessly forward or revert back to their goalkeeper.

As mentioned, one can never base too much on results during preseason, but performance levels are important. If Everton can maintain and develop this style of play in the Premier League, it bodes very well for the next few months.

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