Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)

CARLO GIVEN MAJA SHOCK

- BY DAVE ARMITAGE

win at Everton and boss Scott Parker said: “From start to finish we were superb.

“The difference tonight was that we managed to put the ball in the net. I kept saying to my players that we could not keep producing good performanc­es without results turning for us.

“I would have been more concerned if we weren’t getting the chances and here we put those chances away.

“We have real belief and you will see a team with real belief. I see a team moving in the right direction.”

And Parker saluted his two-goal match-winner, a London-born Nigerian internatio­nal.

“It was a big performanc­e from Josh,” he said. “I don’t want to put too much on him, he’s still young, but he deserved his two goals.”

Everton continued their dismal run at Goodison, where they have taken just a single point in their last four Premier League matches.

And boss Carlo Ancelotti (above) admitted his players were still suffering from the effects of their marathon 5-4 FA Cup extra-time win over Spurs in midweek.

He said: “Physically we didn’t have the necessary power to match the intensity of Fulham. Sometimes you have to say the opponent played better than you and they deserved to win.”

The Italian was clearly impressed with Fulham, who belied their lowly position. “I’m surprised they’re in the bottom three,” he said.

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GOAL hero Harvey Barnes revealed Leicester really fancied their chances of piling on the misery for Liverpool.

The flying Fox, whose third goal killed off the Reds, said that manager Brendan Rodgers had told his side the champions were there for the taking.

Barnes said: “They’re a great side but we knew they hadn’t been in good form and we know we have the quality to beat most sides. We didn’t give them too many chances in the second half apart from the goal and, when the game opened up, we were able to take our opportunit­ies.

“Sometimes you’ve just got to grind it out and make sure you don’t go behind. We were disappoint­ed to concede the goal but we responded really well. We got the three goals and it really killed off the game.”

The Foxes had beaten Manchester City, Chelsea, Tottenham and Arsenal already this season and started Saturday’s game three points above Liverpool.

“This season we’ve been really good against the top teams, so it’s not something that we’re not used to,” Barnes said.

“I don’t think it’s too early to think about trying to get a Champions League place because we’ve got ourselves into a great position. We have learned from how last year went, and we know we’re playing really well this season.

“We knew it was going to be difficult, but it’s not a massive surprise to win. It’s something we’ve been doing this season.”

The 23-year-old did his chances of another internatio­nal call-up no harm at all with his 12th goal of the season in front of England boss Gareth Southgate.

That makes Barnes (top) the highestsco­ring midfielder in the country this season and he admits that adding to the solitary Three Lions cap he picked up in October is very much on his mind.

“The Euros are coming up so I want to be in and around the squad,” he said.

“I think it’s my best goal-scoring season and I’m really happy with how the season is going.”

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