It might have been a third league defeat in a row for Everton, yet there was something in the performance that supporters had not seen in a long time. Fight and spirit.
The Toffees’ 3-1 loss to Manchester City was almost expected before a ball had even been kicked at Goodison Park, yet despite losing Theo Walcott within the first minute of the match and Pep Guardiola’s side flexing their attacking and creative muscle with Gabriel Jesus opening the scoring, the hosts put on a display that any fan would be proud of.
It proved to be a massive performance for the Merseyside club, and for Gylfi Sigurdsson in particular, it was a turning point for the Icelandic international.
The former Swansea City playmaker has been just one of the few key figures around Everton this season to be criticised for his lack of intent and purpose in the early games of the season, yet, on Saturday night at Goodison, we saw a player who gave it his all and was an enlightened creative powerhouse not just for Everton but on the pitch as a whole.
As numbers from WhoScored show, Sigurdsson excelled in the Toffees midfield with the Icelandic international managing the most key passes out of any player in the Everton squad as will as successfully dribbling the most times out of any forward player for Marco Silva’s side.
Indeed, the 30-year-old even performed better than Man City star Kevin De Bruyne as overall ratings from WhoScored show, and that’s with the Belgian international putting his mark on the game with a trademark cross to Jesus for the opening goal of the match.
Sigurdsson was a juggernaut for an Everton side that showed a desire to go at their opponent for the first time in weeks, and for the Merseyside number 10, it can be the performance he needed to spur him onto the good form that made the playmaker one of the Toffees most important players last season.