While most of the focus and praise from the derby win on Saturday has been on Jordan Pickford, Micheal Keane or maybe Richarlison, one other player who had another fine match for Everton was midfielder Tom Davies.
The former Everton academy graduate certainly enjoyed the result as you would expect from a born-and-bred scouser and lifelong Toffees fan.
Davies has been impressing recently since he has stepped in to cover for the injured Allan. And again on Saturday he was asked to do a key job in covering and screening the Everton defence.
His performance went a little under the radar but his recent reincarnation as a terrier-like midfield dynamo reminds me a lot of former Liverpool midfielder Sammy Lee. Perhaps Davies can do a similarly important job for the Blues over the next few seasons.
Lee was a key component of Liverpool’s eighties teams and won five league championship medals, two European Cups and four straight league cups.
He was a Liverpool-born player (like Davies), who was rarely mentioned when commentators were analysing and praising the Reds team of the time. The plaudits would usually go to the high-profile stars like Alan Hansen, Graeme Souness, Kenny Dalglish or Ian Rush.
But Lee did an essential job helping to provide the foundation for those more naturally gifted players to perform. He was a consumate ball-winner in the middle of the park who worked extremely hard covering gaps and filling in for team-mates.
He was also an underrated and fine passer of the ball, often helping to break up opponents attacks, retrive possession and get Liverpool moving forward again. And he popped up to score the odd goal too.
And while the commentariat might have undervalued him his team-mates certainly didn’t. Evertonians also recognised his impact giving him a little song that I can’t repeat on this site!
Anyway Davies appears to be developing many of the same qualities, although he was a more instictively adventurous player when he first broke into the Everton team.
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After a tough few years during in which he has been in and out of the side and has struggled to find consistency and a role, Davies is now showing signs he might have finally found his niche.
The 22-year-old has been highly effective recently playing in front of the Toffees defence, covering a lot of yards, intercepting the ball and then passing it forward effeciently and accurately.
If Davies can carry on doing this water-carrying type of role then he could give Carlo Ancelotti an important additional tactical flexibilty.
His ability to play that defensive, holding role anywhere across the midfield, means the Blues boss can push Allan further forward.
The Brazilian is more than just a destructive player and if he can be freed from playing a purely defensive role, his ability on the ball will be useful for Everton as they seek more creativity from midfield. It would also free Abdoulaye Doucoure to contribute a more attacking role as well.
So let’s see if Davies can continue his current form and contribution and perhaps he can be as quietly influential to this emerging Everton team as Lee was for our neighbours all those years ago. A few of the medals Lee won wouldn’t be a bad return either!