A win is a win.
An obvious statement and one that probably needs reviewing, when you think we swapped the “Big Sam” style for the flowing, attacking football we were told to expect from a Marco Silva side.
True, we should expect more as Everton fans but on days when things aren’t going well, it’s the individual characters that can be the difference.
A 3-0 win, to an Everton side who looked poor all over the pitch in the first half, seemed to show the lack of quality from Cardiff. After a heavy defeat against Watford recently, it wouldn’t have surprised many if Cardiff turned up attempting to put things right.
Everton however, thanks to a couple of individual performances, managed to prevent an upset. By the final whistle, the Toffees looked more like the side from the first half of the season and far from the side from the first half of the match.
Here are my three stars from tonight’s game.
Seamus Coleman
The Everton vice-captain showed us a performance most thought he was no longer capable of. Forever prepared to burst forward, Coleman offered himself in wide areas, allowing the team to spread play, getting himself an assist.
Defensively, Coleman was solid, he stopped attacking threats, making sure the Cardiff wide players never got in behind the Everton back line. In my opinion, this has to be the Irishman’s best game this season.
Gylfi Sigurdsson
Reading the scoreline it would be easy to believe this was a comfortable game for Everton, this however wasn’t always the case. When Coleman cut a ball back for Sigurdsson to finish, it calmed the nerves of the travelling support. His second goal gave the Toffees a clear advantage and allowed the team to play without pressure, making the game more entertaining to watch from an Everton perspective.
Bernard
For me one of a few shock exclusions from the starting line up, Bernard proved why he should be one of the first names on the team sheet.
From the moment he stepped on the pitch, replacing fellow Brazilian, Richarlison, he helped calm his team down. He kept hold of the ball, took on defenders and got the ball into the box, all of which Richarlison had failed to do. As much credit as you have to give to Sigurdsson for scoring the goals, the real game changer for me was the little Brazilian. With the Derby fast approaching, I’d be very surprised if Bernard doesn’t start on Sunday.
