Gerard Deulofeu’s Everton Highlights

Everton fans around the world have been eagerly anticipating the signing of Gerard Deulofeu, and now the transfer is official thoughts will inevitably start drifting back to the magic moments the winger brought to Merseyside in his loan spell two seasons ago.

Some Evertonians may well be guilty of overlooking the fact that the Spaniard was almost equally frustrating as he was mesmerising in that campaign, but amongst the euphoria that has been caused by his arrival, let’s just focus on the positives of his initial spell at Goodison Park.

These are my top five moments of Gerard Deulofeu’s time at Everton back in 2013-14.

5 – Cameo Against Liverpool

Going into the first derby of the season at Goodison Park, the home fans were confident of a rare victory against Liverpool, such was the form Roberto Martinez’s men were displaying at the time.

However, come the start of the second period, the Reds were in a dominant position as they had a goal lead and were having the better of the play as well.

To make matters worse, Leighton Baines picked up an injury five minutes into the half which forced the defender to be replaced.

Surprisingly, it was Deulofeu who came on in his place, with Gareth Barry reverting to left-back.

The tactical switch worked as the youngster from Barcelona tormented Jon Flanagan down the right and was a massive factor as the Blues came from behind to nearly claim a famous win.

In the end a last minute Daniel Sturridge equaliser put paid to those hopes, but without the pace and overall directness from Deulofeu, it is doubtful that Everton would have come away with anything but another derby loss.

4 – The Celebration

He only scored four times for the Toffees in his loan spell, so we didn’t see it many times, but it was enough to become an iconic image for many Everton fans.

This may be considered by some to be an obscure choice in a top five list, but if there is a better celebration in world football, I’ve yet to see it.

Harking back to the days when Gabriel Batistuta used to bring his imaginary machine gun out of his arsenal and direct it at his adoring fans, the 21-year-old replicated, and even improved, the celebration on Merseyside.

In an age where most players attempt to look nonplussed when they find the back of the net, it was refreshing to see the attacker bring a celebration to the table that conveyed the joyful emotion that scoring should conjure, while still looking stylish in the process.

Keep the invisible machine guns coming this season, Gerard.

3 – Stevenage Saviour

Going into a Capital One Cup tie against Stevenage at Goodison Park early on in the campaign, Everton were winless and had the perfect opportunity to get the ball rolling in Martinez’s reign as boss.

However, the lower league side had other ideas and took a shock lead against the run of play to get the nerves jangling on the blue half of Merseyside.

Luckily there was one man who didn’t seem to be feeling the pressure of the occasion, with the home crowd demanding more from the players, and it was probably the one individual who should have been apprehensive in such circumstances.

Gerard Deulofeu was making his debut for the Blues, and the conditions were hardly ideal. The Toffees were struggling to break a stubborn back line down and the pressure to grab a first win of the season was intensifying all the time, with frustration growing as Stevenage continued to hold out.

No matter though, as the winger had a blinder down the right-hand side, constantly looking for the ball and trying to make a difference.

That is exactly what he did as he scored a fine equaliser on the stroke of half time and grabbed the man of the match award as the hosts eventually ran out narrow 2-1 winners in extra time.

2 – Barca Boy Guns Down Arsenal

Never in recent memory had Everton gone away to Arsenal and gone toe-to-toe with the Gunners.

The Toffees were the better side in the first half and were more than matching their hosts in the second 45 minutes, until Mesut Ozil nicked a goal that harshly put the Blues a goal down.

With just minutes left on the clock, it looked for all the world as if the visitors were going to go home empty handed despite their overall play deserving more, but Deulofeu, who had come on just before Ozil’s goal, came to the rescue.