At last! At long, long last. Indeed, Everton kept a rare clean-sheet on Sunday as the Toffees claimed an important 2-0 win over Chelsea at Goodison Park.
Marco Silva’s men have struggled to get momentum going this season and have particularly been vulnerable in defence.
But, on Sunday, the Toffees managed to keep the Blues out, which should be a massive confidence booster for the whole team.
The decision by the manager to start Yerry Mina at centre-back, though, appeared to bring a sense of calmness and composure to the Everton team, who was captained by Seamus Coleman. Despite, being under heaps of pressure early on in the game, Everton managed to absorb everything Maurizio Sarri’s men threw at them before capitalising in the second-half.
Everton were a completely new outfit after the interval, mainly because they realised they could punish Chelsea due to Mina’s solid defending at the back.
The Colombian international looked good next to Michael Keane after Kurt Zouma was left out of the matchday squad.
Mina’s experience clearly helped Keane on the day and the pair formed a solid partnership at the back that offered the London club no clear chances at goal in the second-half. The Keane and Zouma pairing has been under a lot scrutiny lately, especially after the three a 2-0 lead they threw away at Newcastle United last weekend, which saw the Magpies win the encounter 3-2 in the end.
Still, if Everton were to build on this impressive result and make a strong finish to their season then Silva should consider sticking with Keane and Mina as his centre-backs.
Mina also appears to be the type of player who gets better and better the more minutes he gets to be on the pitch, which should tempt Silva to fully place his trust in him. Everton travel to the London Stadium after the international break and could have a chance of picking up a rare away victory over West Ham should they be defensively solid like on Sunday.
Months after signing, Mina is looking worth it.
Everton fans, how excited are you about a future with Yerry Mina? Join the discussion by commenting below…
