'Not a magician' but Moyes casts spell again at Everton

A few weeks ago, David Moyes had said he couldn’t “magic” goals for Everton. It was joked that after the Englishman Graham Potter took over at West Ham, they might need a “Potter” to conjure up some magic. However, Moyes was waving his wand again on his return to Goodison Park.

On Saturday in Merseyside, “ten” was the magic number. Abdoulaye Doucoure’s goal after ten seconds was quicker than Moyes could say “Expelliarmus.” Fan favourite Iliman Ndiaye, wearing that special shirt, put the seal on a rousing victory over Leicester. Moyes said: “The players have just given themselves a little bit of confidence and a bit of positivity. We are just trying to give them as much confidence as we can.”

Moyes continued: “We have a solid defensive base and we are trying to find ways to score more goals. I certainly won’t get carried away. After eight seconds I was thinking ‘Oh my god, this is great.’ The second goal further cemented that.” Everton's performance in the 4-0 win over a struggling Leicester side on Saturday meant they have scored eight goals and won all three of their last three matches. This is in stark contrast to Sean Dyche's reign where they won just three of his 19 league games in charge this season, with Everton failing to score in 11 of them.

The victory lifted the Toffees up to 15th place, nine points clear of the relegation zone and with a game in hand over the bottom four. “It was a brilliant result,” said Moyes. “Good in so many ways; we haven’t been that good at times. If you could have given me three wins out of four, in our position, I’d have said ‘thank you very much’, but we scored so many goals and we could have scored more… We are doing a lot of really good things.” While watching the often dour and drab style of play under Dyche, fans may have wished for the final whistle, but one supporter demanded “another 20 minutes” when the fourth official raised his board for stoppage time.

After the game, goalscorer Beto acted as a cheerleader, geeing up the crowd in the Gladwys Street stand, while Moyes beamed as he waved to the fans in the main stand as the home supporters continued to sing the club’s “Spirit of the Blues” anthem long after the final whistle. Injuries to Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Armando Broja, and Youssef Chermiti have left Beto as Everton's only fit senior striker, and the Portuguese has stepped up when needed. Moyes said: “I’m really pleased for Beto. Those who have been here longer than me will know Beto better. I’m only just getting to know him.”

Moyes added: “He’s a great lad, he works hard in training, he’s trying to improve. Sometimes in life you need an opportunity. Today he got an opportunity and the ovation he got when he came off was as good as any we’ve heard here for a long time. Credit to him for sticking at it and he got two good goals.” Everton host Merseyside rivals Liverpool on February 12 in a game that was postponed in December due to the weather. Arne Slot’s side are in excellent form, sitting nine points clear at the top of the table after a 2-0 win over Bournemouth on Saturday. Former Reds defender Stephen Warnock said on BBC Radio 5 Live: “Liverpool will be looking back now and wishing they had played Everton earlier. Now they have to face David Moyes.”

Warnock continued: “He knows how to set his teams up for derbies and they are in good form.” Leicester manager Ruud van Nistelrooy added: “You go 2-0 down after 10 seconds and five minutes at Goodison against the team with the most clean sheets. You give yourself a mountain to climb and you don’t recover from it. It’s difficult if you have a start like that.”