Sigurdsson: Blues Have Tools To Adapt

Gylfi Sigurdsson says Everton have both the quality and resilience to win games after edging a keenly-fought encounter with Bournemouth on Sunday.

In torrential rain at Goodison Park, Lucas Digne’s pinpoint cross was perfect for countryman Kurt Zouma to drive a header past Asmir Begovic, before Ademola Lookman did likewise to allow Dominic Calvert-Lewin to fire low inside the Cherries keeper’s near post in the 2-0 victory at Goodison.

At the other end, Michael Keane maintained his excellent form with a pivotal role in helping Marco Silva’s side keep a welcome clean sheet. His 11 clearances almost doubled that of any other player on the pitch.

Sigurdsson pointed to the moments of magic that settled the contest and insists that bodes well for an Everton side that will look to build momentum from two straight wins following the success over Lincoln City in the FA Cup a week before.

“Lucas’ cross was fantastic and what we needed to help get us in front,” said the playmaker. “It was a little bit of skill from him and then a really powerful header from Kurt.

“It was what we needed and I felt we controlled the game after that, even though they had a lot of corners and set-pieces. We dealt with those well and it was nice to get the second goal at the end.

“Ademola was very good. We all know his qualities. When he is on the ball, the way he moves, his agility and his feet are all fantastic. He is only young still so hopefully he can stay fit and continue to improve into a fantastic player.


“It was a very tough game, not the prettiest but the main thing was to get the three points. We wanted to get back on track and it is a good clean sheet, too.

“It was scrappy but it was about doing the dirty work. We had to make sure we didn’t concede because we knew we were going to get chances. And when we did, we took them. We worked hard and were resilient.”

With consecutive wins under their belts, Sigurdsson insists confidence is building within the Everton ranks after a challenging December. And the Iceland midfielder says the squad are already looking forward to trying to make it three victories on the spin when they travel to St Mary’s to face Southampton on Saturday.

“The players, the staff and everyone involved has been disappointed with the last few games,” he added. “We have had chances to kick on but it is one of those things. You have to deal with the bad times as well but we have just worked really hard.

“We had a tough game against Lincoln but we have backed up that win with three points against Bournemouth.

“Now we are looking forward to a tough away game [at Southampton] and if we can get something out of that then it will be a good couple of games.

“Southampton are a team fighting for their lives so it will be a very difficult 90 minutes. But I am sure the boys will be ready to go.”