Seasons » 2015-16 » Everton News
Scoring duo delighted as Everton progress


Romelu Lukaku has 13 goals already in all competitions, seven of them laid on by Gerard Deulofeu
Both players continued their impressive form this season as the Spaniard opened the scoring with a wonderful individual effort from the edge of the penalty area before providing the cross for the Belgian striker to head home his 13th goal of the season.
Those first-half strikes, combined with a clean sheet for Joel Robles at the other end, helped the Blues ease the disappointment of Saturday's frustrating draw at Bournemouth with a 2-0 win and put Roberto Martinez's side two games away from a Wembley date for the final.
"We just have to work hard and keep doing what we have been doing," Lukaku told Sky Sports after the game. "Today was a good result and we were 2-0 up, but we kept the clean sheet. We could have scored more, should have scored more, but it is positive for us.
"[The first goal was] very important but Gerard did a good job, scored a nice goal. He is playing very well, he is helping us a lot and I hope he keeps [up that] level.
"We are hungry, young players and want to improve game after game. I think it shows. But we need to stay grounded and improve.
"I know that people expect more from us and that's what we want. We want to be better as well and we need to show it game after game."
Deulofeu, meanwhile, was revelling in the latest reason why he has no regrets about returning to Everton after initially returning to Barcelona following his loan spell in 2013-14.
The Spanish winger has been racking up assists – he has set up over half of Lukaku's goals this season – as he becomes an increasingly influential figure in Martinez's exciting young side and he admitted that he is happy with his form.
"I am enjoying my football a lot," Deulofeu said in his improving English. "Playing with Romelu, Ross and these players is [getting easier]. We're into the next round and we need to keep going for the next game.
"The last game against Bournemouth was disappointing because it was a game we should have won, but it is a good moment and we need to keep going for more."
Reader Comments (20)
Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer
2 Posted 02/12/2015 at 01:42:29
3 Posted 02/12/2015 at 02:09:45
Regards tonight, I thought Rom and Seamus were poor in 2nd half, Leon tried and Funes Mori did okay! Stones was average, nearly cost us a goal and his control was not great at times!
4 Posted 02/12/2015 at 07:52:10
I'm not going to be overly critical when we have so many wonderfully talented players under the age of 24 eg, Rom, Ross, Gerri, Stonesy, Funes Mori, Galloway etc.... Their game management will improve with time as will their decision-making.
Let's just hope we can keep them all together.
5 Posted 02/12/2015 at 08:26:04
I love the understanding those two seem to be developing. They're both young and are only going to get better the more they play. Just need to sort the bloody defence out and we could really be on to something.
6 Posted 02/12/2015 at 08:37:10
We already do have one, mate... unfortunately our manager would rather play a 34-year-old who looks like he's running through treacle wide left than put Kevin Mirallas in the side.
7 Posted 02/12/2015 at 08:44:43
I just hope Delboy meant what he said about wanting to play for Everton for many years, as his goal and assist were both world class last night, and he is forming an amazing attack with Rom and Ross and has a good link up play with Seamus.
I know our defence has been a bit shaky recently, but last night you could see Stones starting to take control of our back line and be more vocal. His partnership with Funes Mori is only going to get stronger.
Also, a quick word on Robles who I thought done really well, and looked sharp in goal considering his lack of opportunities.
8 Posted 02/12/2015 at 08:48:09
There's still a lot of resentment, and sadness, in Spain about Barcelona selling one of the country's brightest young talents in years. All we can do is enjoy him while we can as Barcelona, or one of the other European giants, will soon come calling.
9 Posted 02/12/2015 at 09:29:00
Our other creative outlets, Mirallas and McGeady, are very much out of favour and Lennon isn't getting anywhere near enough game time to contribute. Our other main striker, Naismith, is getting no game time and may well look for a transfer in January.
I don't think Mirallas and McGeady would be any great loss if we sold them in January. They're adding very little at present and both seem to have attitude problems. Naismith I would be sorry to see go but if he isn't getting enough game time he will be very unsettled and his head may go.
All three players would raise enough funds between them in January to cover most of the cost of a Yarmolenko or a Honda.
10 Posted 02/12/2015 at 12:52:02
http://www.marca.com/2015/12/01/futbol/futbol_internacional/premier_league/1449008467.html
Enjoy the Deulofeu magic again in all its glory. Incidentally, the article starts off by saying (literally), that Delboy is "living a very sweet moment". Now we know why RM is always talking about 'moments' of form...!
11 Posted 02/12/2015 at 13:05:34
12 Posted 02/12/2015 at 13:27:03
However if and when he does eventually go, he will be missed. As we would if Rom and Stones were to move on, and indeed Ross (who often gets criticism for inconsistency but I really like and believe he would be a huge loss). These are all young and still learning, and we need to do all we can to keep them at the club for the long term.
Add to the list Galloway, Besic and Funes Mori, and we have the spine of a promising strong future team
13 Posted 02/12/2015 at 13:33:51
Deulofeu, Lukaku and even Barkley for the most part have hit a new level this season and throwing the likes Osman, Naismith, McGeady et al up top with them now just looks like a painful reminder of the more limited teams of years gone by. What we need now is a left wing playmaker circa Pienaar in his prime nothing less.
14 Posted 02/12/2015 at 14:39:20
There is no doubt we need a Mirallas to provide an extra scoring threat as far too often Rom is alone up front but because of the managers reluctance to employ him Rom has to battle with multiple defenders, one positive was to see Baines back although Cleverley was less than impressive, Robles while having little to do showed enough to be given more consideration.
It will be interesting to see who we get in the semis but whoever we get we must attack hard.just hope it isn't 'them' from across the park IF they get through today.
15 Posted 02/12/2015 at 15:45:02
He played little first team football last year but he has matured as a player incredibly in 18 months. I think it as much to do with the way that Everton have developed as a team too, but all credit to him.
I recall being mightily impressed with Ryan Griggs and Christian Ronaldo at the same age but neither of them had the ability to pick a final pass at that age that GD shows consistently for the blues. Long may it continue.
Regarding RL, his control and ability to retain possession under pressure is light years away from last year. All credit to him and, again, the way the team have adjusted to play better balls into him.
Thinking back again, he is in my view at least on a par with Didier Drogba at the same age.
16 Posted 02/12/2015 at 16:30:39
Wijnaldum, the lad at Newcastle, may be up for grabs soon. A very good player.
17 Posted 02/12/2015 at 17:05:53
Doesn't matter if the lower purchase price zooms up if he stays a third or fourth season. If he continues to improve, there's not some transfer fee Barca couldn't afford.
Would like to think, his staying 2-3 seasons will provide a fine motivation for Lukaku to stay, too.
18 Posted 02/12/2015 at 17:39:12
Was scrolling thru Yahoo's Home Page. There's always a lot of soccer news in there. Not the Sports section, but on their Home Page. Someone in their hierarchy loves footy.
Went to the Yahoo Soccer page and had to scroll way down to be reminded that ManCity played yesterday and won. Them playing is why BEIN didn't cover our game live; only the replay. Yet, they got a blurb today and EFC is all over the site. Having Deulofeu has amped up the media coverage of EFC.
19 Posted 02/12/2015 at 17:41:22
This boy Deulofeu is football gold and is probably a No 10. The way he floated through before calmly passing the ball into the net was sheer magic. Reminded me so much of the great Roberto Baggio.
As for the Lukaku goal. Well, this time Del did a tremendous impression of Stanley Matthews and the big fella picked his spot. Class and entertainment of the highest order. I gasped with delight.
The rest of the team, especially Robles, did okay but they definitely seemed a wee bit shaky on the ball, especially 2nd half. I have no doubt that this was due to the complicated safety orders they were trying to follow. You could almost hear them thinking aloud.
Nice to see Baines back even though he needs to lose a few pounds. The same goes for Barkley. I know it's all muscle but it's very heavy and not helping his mobility and stamina. Watch the athletic slimline Kevin de Bruyne operating for Man City and you will see the difference.
20 Posted 02/12/2015 at 18:38:04
Give me a whippet like Jamie Vardy to a bulked up Micah Richards any day .
Add Your Comments
In order to post a comment, you need to be logged in as a registered user of the site.
Or Sign up as a ToffeeWeb Member — it's free, takes just a few minutes and will allow you to post your comments on articles and Talking Points submissions across the site.
1 Posted 02/12/2015 at 01:04:59