Dan James claimed that the Everton fans getting ‘really behind their team’ on Saturday made them look like a ‘great team’ as they beat Leeds 3-0 at Goodison Park.
The Leeds winger told BBC Sport that Everton being on the ‘front foot’, from the get-go, added with the crowd behind them, ‘worked in their favour’.
Inside 23 minutes, Frank Lampard’s men were 2-0 up, with two defenders, in Seamus Coleman and Michael Keane, getting on the scoresheet.
After their 3-3 draw at Aston Villa in midweek, where they came from 3-1 down to record a point, Marcelo Bielsa’s side would have felt they could get back into the game.
But the Toffees held their own, with Anthony Gordon adding a third 20 minutes from time to all but kill off the game.
James, who played upfront, before moving on the wing against Everton, shared his thoughts on the game and the difference the home crowd made.
“We just didn’t start well and they did,” said the £25 million player. “They were on the front foot and put us under pressure.
“When the crowd got behind them they looked like a great team. We tried to control the game a bit more but we didn’t start at the races.
“We just didn’t deal with it well. The crowd really got behind them and that worked in their favour. The early goal killed us a little bit. They were the better team today.”
Following Everton’s defeat at Newcastle, they would have been looking over their shoulder and fearing the worst.
Facing another team near the bottom, and possibly losing that, would have just sparked more trouble for the Merseyside giants.
But this result has probably put it all to bed and Lampard doesn’t have to look over his shoulder anymore.
Everton are five points above the drop zone, with a better goal difference than everyone below them and two games in hand on some.
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