GYLFI’S REVENGE
Ex-Swan silences Cardiff boo boys
THE words left him no room to wriggle. Marco Silva chose the phrase ‘ must win’ for Everton’s trip to Cardiff which, given his position, wass a risk.
For once, however, it all went to plan. Everton, the team who have made losing a habit, roused themselves to run outt comfortable victors here, teeing themselves up perfectly for their biggest day of the campaign.
Following talks in London with Farhad Moshiri last week, Silva needed to give Everton’s major shareholder three points on the third anniversary of the Iranian billionaire’s arrival at the club. And, really, it was never in doubt from the moment Gylfi Sigurdsson settled their nerves.
Sigurdsson, the standout investment of the Moshiri era at £ 45million, was the standout performer — scoring either side of half-time and taking great delight as a former Swansea player to push Cardiff, who were booed off, closer to the precipice.
‘I am delighted with the result and the attitude of our players,’ Silva purred after Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s late strike confirmed the gulf in class between the teams. ‘It is an important win and we hope it is a turning point.’
Silva had taken umbrage to a question in his pre-match conference about whether he felt compelled to do anything radical to change a run of 10 defeats in 16 games but his selection was radical, the prime example being the returns of Morgan Schneiderlin and Phil Jagielka.
The pair had mustered just 341 minutes of action in the Premier League all season, with Jagielka’s last start being at Wolves on the opening day. His rust showed in the first 90 seconds, as a short pass back to Jordan Pickford almost allowed Kenneth Zohore to profit. After that he was faultless.
It was the first of some notable anxious moments in the opening 10 minutes. Nathaniel MendezLaing thumped a drive into the chest of Lucas Digne and Zohore fired a volley into the side-netting after a clipped pass from Aron Gunnarson. Everton looked like they may crack. They were able to wriggle off the hook, though, as Cardiff are so limited.
Schneiderlin was heavily involved in the 41st-minute opening goal as he swapped passes with Theo Walcott and Idrissa Gana Gueye then ushered Seamus Coleman forward. The Irishman’s cross was precise and Sigurdsson’s finish was emphatic, swept in from 10 yards.
On the touchline, Silva roared his approval. You could not say he looked happy but certainly he was relieved.
There was something appropriate about Sigurdsson providing the finish. It was his 10th league goal of the campaign, which is a decent return. His commitment cannot be faulted, he suffers due to the exorbitant price Swansea managed to extract when they sold him in August 2017. With a lead to protect, the question Everton had to answer in the second period was whether they could hold their nerve. They answered it emphatically and the only sight Cardiff had — when Zohore charged into the area — was snuffed out by the excellent Schneiderlin.
Moshiri’s vision is for Silva to create a team that passes and moves, and plays with style. And the second and third goals fitted the bill — Sigurdsson sweeping in the clincher after Gueye and substitute Bernard had combined before Calvert-Lewin crowned a flowing move in the final throes.
‘One of the problems this season is consistency,’ said Silva. ‘The results are the main thing in football and when you are winning it boosts your confidence. We were in command of the game and got a clean sheet.’
They also got the win. And that was the most important thing of all.