Sigurdsson: We showed what Everton are capable of

Everton beat Fulham quite easily in the end after a rejuvenated second half performance brushed aside the newly-promoted side.

But there was a spell early in the second half when Gylfi Sigurdsson hammered his penalty off the crossbar and it looked like there was more frustration in store for the Blues. Luckily the Iceland international kept his composure when presented with a chance a few minutes later, and he dispatched the low shot into the far corner to relieve nerves all over Goodison Park.

After the game, Sigurdsson said -

“For a minute, I did think it was going to be one of those days. But something inside of me just said to forget about it and move on. I had to be strong enough mentally to go on and score or set something up.

“Thankfully I have gone on to score four minutes later. That’s always nice and it gave us a bit of breathing space.

“On the pitch it felt like we were going to create chances. It was just a case of making sure we took them when they came.”

The Blues kept attacking even when up by two, and when Bernard made an inspired run and pass in the box late on, Sigurdsson was on hand to bury the third, thereby locking the door and throwing away the key on any Fulham recovery hopes.

Sigurdsson was thrilled by Bernard, who again looked lively.

“Bernard is a fantastic player – he is really good technically and has got the vision. He’s shown the patience he needed just to keep hold of the ball and then release a perfectly-weighted pass for me to take a touch and pass it into the bottom corner.”

The Blues have long been overdue for a win, with only one to show in six Premier League games before today. Sigurdsson insisted that heads hadn’t dropped in training though.

“The result was massive for us, especially after the past two games. In the second half we showed what we are capable of and we have got our first clean sheet of the season which is always nice. It was a good three points for us today.

“The feeling in the squad has been positive and we think we are moving in the right direction.

“We have put in some good performances but haven’t quite managed to get the pass or the finish to turn draws into wins. We had that today and overall it was a good performance.”