Yerry Mina is Everton’s master of the dark arts – just ask Haaland and Guardiola

Off the pitch he is rarely without the megawatt smile and easygoing demeanour that endears him to team-mates and supporters.

But when the whistle goes, Everton defender Yerry Mina can become a more formidable, scheming and even cynical opponent, utilising every trick in football’s playbook to gain an edge.

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During his side’s defeat by Manchester City on Sunday, the defender clashed with a string of opposition players, including Erling Haaland, Aymeric Laporte and Jack Grealish.

At one point, centre-back Laporte lashed out at Mina after the pair tussled before a City corner, prompting the Colombian to fall to the turf. Officials were forced to intervene regularly in clashes with Haaland, the first of which came just minutes into the match.

The Norwegian later uploaded an image on social media which showed bruises and scratches, which some media outlets have suggested were from Mina. Grealish, meanwhile, could be seen arguing with the 28-year-old and continued to remonstrate with him after the final whistle.

But it was opposing manager Pep Guardiola who made headlines for also approaching Mina to animatedly berate him on the pitch moments later.

The Spaniard was clearly unhappy and told journalists that Mina’s conduct during the game was “unnecessary”.

“It’s not necessary, what he does,” he said. “Away from football, it is not necessary to do what he does every single game. And I told him, ‘You are a good enough player to avoid these kinds of things’.

“He knows (what he did). Ask him. This is not physical, this is not mental. There are things that are not necessary to do that he does. This time with Aymeric, Jack (Grealish), everybody. Ask him.”

Analysing footage of incidents involving Mina during the game on Monday, former Premier League referee Dermot Gallagher was not impressed, inferring the ex-Barcelona centre-back was guilty of simulation during the coming together with Laporte.

“Certainly didn’t hit him in the face, did he?” said Gallagher, seemingly in reference to Mina holding his hands over his face as he fell to the pitch. “When he goes down like that, it’s more like a fly swat.

“It’s as if he’s (Laporte) going, ‘Get off me’. Suddenly he’s (Mina) been punched in the face which certainly didn’t happen. It’s not a good advert.”

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Former England midfielder Sue Smith added: “You don’t want to see that. Laporte was just trying to get him off the ball and he went down too easily.”

Former Leeds goalkeeper Paul Robinson said that Mina had attempted to distract Laporte before the corner was taken. “I think Mina was pinching him,” Robinson said. “There’s a lot that goes on at corners. That’s why he’s (Laporte) lifting his shirt up. Centre-halves used to stand on players’ toes when they were marking them.

“When centre-forwards used to come and stand on top of you as a keeper, you used to drop your back studs onto the top of their foot just to get them to move away.

“The nipping goes on quite often, and Laporte has probably just had enough and turned around and gone ‘Get off me’.”

"It's not a very good advert." ❌

Dermot Gallagher on Yerry Mina's reaction to Aymeric Laporte #RefWatch

— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 15, 2023

The focus of the discussion seemed to centre on Mina’s reaction rather than Laporte lashing out at the Everton player. It was the Colombian alone who was singled out for criticism in the incident, which saw neither booked by official Anthony Taylor.

Everton manager Sean Dyche played down his opposite number’s comments, suggesting Mina — who has started just six Premier league games this season — has not featured enough for any pattern of foul play to be apparent.

“If (Mina) did it all the time, (Guardiola) has done well to see them. I haven’t seen (Mina) on the pitch for weeks so I don’t know when he was doing it,” said Dyche. “(Guardiola) must have been watching videos or something. I haven’t seen him in that long so I wouldn’t know where he had seen it from.”

Sunday’s flashpoints were not the first time Mina has clashed with opponents. During last season’s Goodison win over Chelsea in May, he was involved in an incident with Kai Havertz, falling to the floor after arguing with the attacker, who was subsequently booked. Everton won the crucial game 1-0 and Mina was a standout performer, nullifying the German throughout.

During a pre-season friendly, Mina clashed with Arsenal striker and former Palmeiras team-mate Gabriel Jesus and, in the past, he has drawn the ire of an assortment of others when playing for club and country, including Lionel Messi, Emi Martinez, Patrick Bamford and Callum Wilson.

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Mina was also accused of trying to get Raheem Sterling sent off with his theatrical reaction to a coming together between the pair in the round of 16 match at the 2018 World Cup. That game saw Mina’s reputation grow after he scored a 93rd-minute headed equaliser to force extra time and eventually penalties, which England won.

Those who have worked with Mina point to a fierce competitor who will do what he thinks it takes to help his team. Warm and effervescent off the field, on the pitch he is a product of the environment in which he was brought up: a poor part of Colombia where footballing and cultural norms are different to the UK.

It’s a focus on winning at all costs that can involve dominating opponents and getting in their heads. The tactic is not particularly unusual within South American football — but does lead to scrutiny when it happens in the Premier League.

When he arrived at Everton in 2018, it had been suggested that he would need to tone down the more rugged elements of his game to help his adaptation to English football. But there is also a belief among people he has worked with, that he feeds off — and indeed thrives on — the confrontation and intensity of duels with opposition attackers. He needs this conflict to get himself going.

Others feel Guardiola’s intervention was another unnecessary example of the City manager being too vocal about opposition players, particularly after a crucial victory. Just about all of the noise created has been profoundly unhelpful for a team and player battling relegation.

The only thing everyone can agree on is that Mina is indeed good enough, as Guardiola suggested, to make an impact at the top level without being involved in such altercations.

It was notable on Sunday that Haaland only found joy when he targeted other members of Everton’s back line. Competently marshalled in the main by the Colombian, Haaland’s goal came when he found space in between James Tarkowski and Mason Holgate in the Everton box. The City striker ultimately did what the best forwards do: he targeted the home side’s weak links — and did so ruthlessly.

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Mina is not one of those. Overall, he had the highest number of touches of any Everton player in Sunday’s match, including the most in both the defensive and middle thirds.

His primary responsibility in possession was to help the side build attacks and he did so effectively. He completed 53 out of his 57 passes — a 93 per cent success rate — but also managed to be expansive in his play. His passes had the highest progressive distance of any Everton outfield player (280 yards), while his turnover rate — how often he lost possession with his touches — was also the lowest in the side at six per cent.

Those numbers, particularly the final one, would not look out of place in Guardiola’s side.

Perhaps this is partly what the City manager meant when he said Mina was good enough not to involve himself in contentious moments. Beyond the noise and the criticism, there was also a begrudging respect for the larger-than-life defender who dominates Everton’s back line when fit. Everything else is just noise.

As his team fights for survival, Mina may well just be the player they need for the scrap ahead.

(Top photo: Michael Regan/Getty Images)