Everton boss Allardyce praises Schneiderlin, critical of Wayne Rooney

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Everton drew in the Merseyside derby at the weekend.

Everton manager Sam Allardyce has told The Liverpool Echo that he was pleased with the performance of Morgan Schneiderlin against Liverpool.

Schneiderlin featured for Everton in the Merseyside derby against Liverpool at Goodison Park this past Saturday afternoon.

The former Southampton and Manchester United defensive midfielder started the Premier League game and played for the entire 90 minutes, as it ended in a goalless draw.

Everton boss Allardyce was pleased with the performance of the France international, who has been on the books of the Toffees since January 2017 when he joined from United for an initial transfer fee reported by The Guardian to be worth £20 million and earns £120,000 per week as salary, according to Spotrac.com.

Allardyce has also defended his decision to take off Wayne Rooney in the 57th minute of the Merseyside outfit and has been critical of his performances against the bigger sides.

The Everton manager told The Liverpool Echo about Schneiderlin: “I loved what I saw from him. I was really pleased for him.”

Allardyce told The Mirror about Rooney when asked if he has struggled in midfield against the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City in recent weeks: “I can agree with you to a certain extent.

“All I know is, Wayne put a terrific effort in, during his time on the field. And then the time (we substituted him) was the right time for me, because we were chasing the ball too much.”

The former Newcastle United and West Ham United boss added: “It is simple for me, because there is my eye, during the game, and then there are the stats after the game.

“When those stats are accumulating related to what I’ve seen, calculated to what I’ve seen – for anybody, not just Wayne – then we talk to the player, whoever it might be, and say, ‘levels have to be lifted’.”

Encouraging result?

The performance of Everton against Liverpool was not great, but the fact they they could draw with the Reds was encouraging.

The Toffees are safe from relegation to the Championship, and they should use their final games of the season to break into the top eight of the Premier League.