Barry delivers first Toffees treble in commanding Deepdale victory

Thierno Barry has declared that "this season needs to be mine" after producing his first hat-trick for Everton in a comprehensive 4-0 EFL Cup victory over Preston North End at Deepdale.

The heavily sought-after forward netted a treble in Lancashire, while Brennan Johnson also opened his Toffees account as David Moyes' side cruised into the third round of the competition, where they will host Championship outfit Wolves at Goodison Park.

One-sided affair on paper — and in reality

Despite the 4-0 scoreline, Everton led by just a single goal at the interval through Barry. However, three strikes in the space of 13 second-half minutes settled the tie emphatically. The scoreboard told a familiar story of dominance: Everton racked up 3.94 expected goals (xG) from 29 shots, compared to Preston's 0.34 from just five attempts.

Barry arrives at Deepdale on the back of scoring in Everton's weekend Premier League victory over Crystal Palace, and the centre forward is now determined to make 2026-27 his breakout campaign.

'This season needs to be mine'

"I say this season needs to be mine. I try a lot this summer for that so I'm very happy to score my first hat-trick with Everton. I work a lot for that, I'm very happy, my team-mates helped me a lot also."

Moyes, meanwhile, offered a typically no-nonsense assessment of his striker's display.

"I told him he has to do a lot better than he did before, that's it. We want goalscorers, we want centre forwards to score goals and he's got some. I don't think it's easy for anybody coming to the Premier League in their first season, especially centre forwards, it's difficult for them. He'll learn a lot more, he'll see a lot more and he's come in with a much better attitude generally so whoever's working with him is doing a good job."

The reward is a home third-round cup tie against Wolves, with Barry determined to build on early-season momentum.