Why Gylfi Sigurdsson might prove to be Everton’s key man in the midfield
There was a lot of expectations when Marco Silva took over Everton’s reins from Sam Allardyce in the summer and changes were anticipated at Goodison Park. Those expectations rocketed sky-high when Everton managed to complete deals for players like Yerry Mina, Richarlison, Andre Gomes, Lucas Digne and Bernard in the transfer window.
And the Toffees have made a decent start to the season. In fact, they were unbeaten for the first four games where they managed to win one and drew the remaining three before the debacle against West Ham saw Marco Silva’s men crumble to a 3-1 defeat at home. That was followed by another defeat at the hands of Arsenal, which was enough to ring the alarm bells in the camp.
However, Everton turned their fortunes around and got themselves back to winning ways with a 3-0 drubbing of Fulham on Saturday. Few would have expected the Toffees to register such an emphatic win after going through a lean patch but Silva’s men silenced their critics with an improved performance.
While promise and potential have never been a problem for Everton with players like Theo Walcott, Richarlison, Bernard and Gylfi Sigurdsson, the Toffees did struggle with consistency. They needed their key players to put their hands up regularly and Sigurdsson’s heroics proved to be the difference between the two sides as Everton bagged all three points.
Sigurdsson, who joined Everton for £45m, missed an opportunity to put his team in the lead but the Iceland international made up for his missed chance by scoring a brace later in the game.
In fact, Sigurdsson set up Dominic Calvert-Lewin with a perfectly-measured pass to run into acres of open space before Denis Odoi’s push from the back earned the Toffees a penalty.
Sigurdsson opened the scoring in the 56th minute with a curling left-foot effort from the edge of the box before Theo Walcott’s cross into the box allowed Cenk Tosun to head in his first goal of the campaign.
The Iceland international continued to run the show at Goodison Park and was the most influential player for Everton in the midfield. Although Everton had been decent with their build-up play in the games prior to this, they either lacked the final pass or the finishing to round off the promising moves.
However, it was totally different this time around as Sigurdsson came to the party. He was everywhere on the pitch – either winning the ball in the deeper areas and carrying it forward or creating openings in the opposition’s defence by linking the play with his teammates. His vision and finishing proved to be an asset for the Merseysiders.
Sigurdsson scored the third in the 89th minute to round off a perfect night for Marco Silva’s men. This time, his right foot found the back of the net from just outside the penalty area. It was impressive to see how Bernard tormented the defence with a lung-busting run down the left and Sigurdsson used his awareness to good effect and struck the ball sweetly.
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Passing skills, positional awareness, game-reading and set-piece abilities, work rate and finishing – Sigurdsson showed it all against Fulham. He is Everton’s complete midfield package and the Toffees must continue banking on him to deliver the goods on a consistent basis. If he does perform up to his potential, Everton might be strong contenders for a top six finish this season.
