Ronald Koeman has hailed his Everton players' defensive work after watching his side record a 2-0 Boxing Day victory over Leicester City.
The reigning Premier League champions were undone by two long balls upfield by the visitors, with Kevin Mirallas and Romelu Lukaku profitting from the Foxes' lackadaisical defending to fire the Blues to all three points.
The triumph at the King Power stadium was Everton's first on the road in seven matches, and helped the Toffees record a first victory over Leicester in six attempts.
Speaking to the club's official site after the match, Koeman lauded his stars for their defensive resiliency and battling qualities that helped Everton earn a second win from the past three games.
He said: We did a good job today.The team was aggressive, we defended well, we were compact in the second half.
You saw in the game the difference between the beginning - when we were a little bit nervous and not comfortable on the ball. There was space to play between the lines and we did not make the right decisions, but that was much better in the second half.
Outstanding team performance and a clean sheet. I like Boxing Day! Thanks for your superb support, fans! #everton #efc pic.twitter.com/t8HPoPTI4I
The team was more confident after going 1-0 up. [Leicester] changed their system a little bit and we started with four at the back. We defended well and were dangerous on the counter-attack. The big chance for Gana [in the second half] was a key moment to kill the game but finally Romelu did."
The former Netherlands international also reserved special praise for two of his squad members who have not featured as much as others so far this term.
Goalkeeper Joel Robles kept a clean sheet in only his third league appearance of the season, while young midfield star Tom Davies put in a composed display after he had replaced veteran team-mate Gareth Barry.
Speaking about the duo, Koeman added: Tom Davies was really good when he came on and was strong. It was important for the team.�
Joel did very well today. He was important, he made some good saves and was comfortable with crosses. That gives the team confidence and we were strong.
We dominated the game, they did not create big chances to score and we deserved the three points.�
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