James Rodriguez: Player Rating and Performance versus Brighton
The question of whether James Rodriguez could adapt to the Premier League has virtually been answered already.
How did he perform in Everton's 4-2 win over Brighton?
📷 James Rodriguez: Match Snapshot
A ⏱️ 45' James drifted a teasing set-piece into the area and it was met by the head of Yerry Mina, his international team-mate, to put Everton back in front on the stroke half-time.
⚽ ⏱️ 52' And as Brighton simply didn't track him he moved in at the back post to meet a cross from Alex Iwobi to volley into the net and put his side out of sight.
⚽ ⏱️ 70' And he produced an almost identical move 20 minutes from time, once again popping up at the back post to have the most straightforward of tasks to slide home.
James has helped to completely transform this Everton side as an attacking threat. He fired in four shots and the two that found the target went in, while he completed two dribbles and created one Big Chance.
He racked up an xG of 1.20 and an xA of 0.6 in another hugely impressive display, as well as having a 94% pass completion on 47 passes - extremely high for a creative midfielder.
Everton 4-2 Brighton: Player Ratings, Match Statistics, Player Statistics
〽️ James: Rating Week-on-Week
✔️ IMPROVEMENT
He produced probably his most reserved display of the season in the 2-1 win over Crystal Palace, recording a 6.9 FC Rating. But here he was flawless, scoring the decisive goal and earning a perfect 10 FC Rating.
🗝️ Key Stats
James match stats
| Statistic | Value | Notes |
| FC Rating | 10 | FC Man of the Match |
| Mins Played | 78 | |
| Touches | 72 | |
| Final Third Passes | 16 | |
| Shots | 4 | Rank #1 |
| On Target | 2 | |
| Goals | 2 | Rank #1 |
| Assists | 1 |
James: What Next?
Not even James' biggest fans could have expected him to hit the ground running so quickly in a new league, but the biggest test comes after the international break - Liverpool in the Merseyside Derby, which should be a mouth-watering encounter.