We have seen best Rajiv ‘for a long time’ says happy Wagner

DAVID Wagner believes Goodison Park saw the best Rajiv van La Parra “for a long time” this weekend as Huddersfield Town claimed an excellent draw against Everton.

The Dutchman lit up the left flank for Town, especially in the first half, and caused problems for the Toffees with his pace and trickery going forward.

The Terriers’ head coach also highlighted the winger’s defensive contribution against Marco Silva’s men, which helped Town secure a second Premier League point of the season on Merseyside.

Wagner told HTTV : “I think Rajiv had an outstanding performance.

“Offensively he was very brave and made a lot of good decisions and defensively he made a step forward.

“He has to keep this on-running because, as we know, we now have competition in our squad.

“If this is the result, that we see the best Rajiv van La Parra for a long time, then I am happy. “This is how we have to continue. “We had our moments in the offence.

“We have to work on our transition, like I said before. It isn’t perfect, but we will work on it.

“We have the quality and the skills to be successful with this.”

The boss went on to highlight the performance of Philip Billing at Goodison, with the Danish midfielder claiming the opening goal before Dominic Calvert-Lewin equalised less than two minutes later.

Wagner praised Billing and his team mates for the way in which they broke the deadlock, before assessing the 22-year-old’s display as a whole.

He said: “You also need a good delivery, which is what we had and good timing for the flick, which is what we had too.

“I am very happy for Phil that he scored his Premier League goal.

“He played very well together with Aaron [Mooy] in the centre.

“They really closed the gaps and worked their socks off, and it wasn’t easy for Phil because he got a yellow card so early.

“You have to be smart and you have to play with intelligence as he has done.

“He has performed, like the whole team, on a very high level in terms of organisation, communication and the defensive shape.

“This was very, very good.”