Beto began his goal-scoring exploits in the league by registering Everton’s opening goal in the 3-2 win over Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux Stadium last weekend.
It was the Toffees’ second win in the league after beating Brighton 2-0 at home, and they are fifth in the league with six points heading into the first international break of the season.
Manager David Moyes praised Beto’s humility, work ethic and ability to take constructive criticism in the post-match press conference. When asked about his manager’s words, Beto said, “He’s a good man, he’s a good person and he’s always trying to push me, you know?
“Sometimes he jokes around, ‘Beto, you can’t do this, you can’t do that.’ But he’s always trying to push me and when I do something bad, he says, ‘You need to be tidy, holding the ball – set.’
“I know that I need to improve that, but he knows too, so it’s good to have him [on my side].”
There was some speculation about the relationship between the two being frosty after Moyes openly asked for more output from his number 9 during the pre-season. However, those apprehensions can be put to rest.
Beto has seen a career resurgence with Moyes taking over the reins at Everton in January. Since Moyes’ return to the club, only four Premier League players (Mohamed Salah, Alexander Isak, Jean-Philippe Mateta and Chris Wood) have scored more goals in the league than the eight Beto scored in 21 appearances under the Scottish manager.
He also got on the scoresheet against Mansfield Town in the Carabao Cup after tapping home Harrison Armstrong’s pass, a move he would go on to repeat against Wolves just a few days later.
“My favourite goals are tap-ins and these kinds of goals,” he said after the game.
“It’s so difficult to have these type of goals, but I think this season, if I’m more alive, I need to believe that the ball will arrive – and it will arrive.
“I told Jack (Grealish) at the beginning of the game, I said, ‘Give me one today.’ And five minutes passed, he gave it to me, so it was perfect.
“I’m pleased with the result. A tough, really tough game to play. A really difficult stadium to play. I think the last two times that I came here, we drew last season, the other season we lost, so it’s a tough stadium to play. We got three points and I’m really happy.”
Despite enduring a difficult start to the season with a 1-0 loss to Leeds United at Elland Road, Everton have managed to turn things around quickly. They’ve recorded three wins on the trot against Brighton, Mansfield Town and Wolves respectively and confidence is high in the camp.
“It shows what we can do,” added Beto. “I think we can go game by game. We need to just focus on the next game.
“We can’t focus three, four games ahead. Game by game, prepare for the game and we go, we play.
“Every game I think it’s possible for us to win. You can call me delusional, but I’m like this. And I think I can score every game too, but football is football.
“I think we can show more than what we showed today and we just need to keep going.”