Everton player ratings: Tarkowski tops the chart after late Bournemouth rescue

James Tarkowski](player:james-tarkowski) was Everton’s standout in the 1-1 draw away at Bournemouth on 29 August 2026. He scored the stoppage-time equaliser after Alex Scott had put Bournemouth ahead in the 41st minute, and his 7.97 match rating was the highest in the game. Everton needed that kind of intervention to leave with a point.

Tarkowski’s late impact

The numbers fit what unfolded at the end of Bournemouth vs Everton. Tarkowski played the full 90 minutes, scored once and finished as Everton’s stoppage-time saviour in the Liverpool Echo ratings. Chris Beesley’s verdict was simple enough: “The captain, clutching the badge on his jersey, was Everton’s stoppage-time saviour as the centre-back showed the coolness of a centre-forward to drive the ball past Dorde Petrovic when it fell to him from Hayden Hackney’s corner.”

That goal carried the draw, but the performance was broader than one moment. Tarkowski’s 7.97 rating sat above everyone else on the pitch, and he was the one Everton player who combined the finishing touch with the biggest match-grade.

Pickford keeps Everton alive

Jordan Pickford was the other Everton player who came out of this with real credit. He made four saves and posted a 7.04 rating, which is exactly the sort of return you want when your side spends stretches under pressure.

Beesley described him as alert, saying Pickford was “punching a corner off his line and saving from Rayan at his near post before keeping out a stinging effort from Justin Kluivert.” The shot-stopping gave Everton a platform, even if the back line still left enough work for Tarkowski to undo Bournemouth’s lead late on.

Alex Scott was Bournemouth’s best-rated player with a 7.8 and his first-half goal put the home side in front. Everton’s reaction after the interval, and especially at the end, was what stopped the afternoon from becoming a defeat.

The final takeaway is straightforward: Tarkowski’s late equaliser and 7.97 rating made him the clear headline act, with Pickford next best for Everton in a match they left with a point from the south coast.