Gueye dominant in Everton win

Idrissa Gueye looked his absolute best yesterday as Everton dismantled Sunderland 2-0 at Goodison Park to send former manager David Moyes and his contingent of ex-Evertonians back empty-handed.

The Senegalese midfielder was a dominant force everywhere on the pitch yesterday as his activity map below can testify.

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For long parts of the first half of the season while Ronald Koeman’s Everton side found their feet and were working out their formations and tactics, Gueye was the team’s best player on the pitch. In fact, he was Man of the Match in seven games and a close second in three others out of nineteen total games.

It was interesting that the Blues did not notice a drop-off in performance after his departure for the Africa Cup of Nations, but that was primarily because of the emergence of Tom Davies and the signing of Morgan Schneiderlin. Koeman then insisted on giving him ample rest after returning from the tournament, and he seemed to have dropped off the fans’ radar a bit.

But that dominant return to form yesterday along with his growing partnership with Schneiderlin portends well for their Everton future.

Despite his stellar performances this season though, Gueye gets much less publicity than other higher profile players in the same positions - N’Golo Kante, Ander Herrera, Victor Wanyama and Jordan Henderson.

In fact, he’s also become the first player to register one hundred successful tackles this season in the top five Leagues across Europe. That achievement is magnified even more when you consider he missed a month while away on national duty.

Gueye and Schneiderlin are going to face a stern test next week playing at White Hart Lane as Everton travel to Tottenham Hotspur, who demolished Stoke City today with four first-half goals.