Players react to Davinson's debut and win at Goodison Park

The players’ welcoming committee was out in force for Davinson Sanchez after the young defender’s impressive full debut in Saturday’s 3-0 win at Everton.

A stoppage-time substitute in the 1-1 home draw with Burnley before the international break, the 21-year-old came into our back-three alongside fellow Ajax alumni Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld at Goodison Park, just days after lining up for Colombia against Brazil in a World Cup qualifier in Barranquilla.

Solid in his defending, he helped us keep a clean sheet, with Jan, goalkeeper and skipper Hugo Lloris, Ben Davies and Christian Eriksen all full of praise for him as they spoke to us to reflect on a fantastic victory, in which a Harry Kane brace coupled with Christian’s strike gave us the points.

First up, though, we heard from the man himself…

Davinson Sanchez

On his full debut 
“When you have the players we have, it makes it so much easier for me because we have so much quality and a great mentality. It was the perfect debut.”

On preventing Everton from scoring 
“For us as defenders, the clean sheet is always very important. This is a big plus for the team because when we score, it’s easier then, when you have a clean sheet. I’m very happy with the win. The Premier League is difficult but when you have that quality, it’s much easier.”

Jan Vertonghen

On Davinson’s performance 
“He did very well. It was a hard game for him to come into at Everton but playing three at the back helped him. It’s good to be a bit protected especially in the first game and he played alongside myself and Toby and to be fair, he did very well. You could see his qualities. He’s strong, quick, strong in the air, confident – he’s a great addition to the squad.”

Hugo Lloris

On Davinson’s first start 
“He’s a quiet guy but he understands perfectly the way we play. For his first game it was fantastic because we had a clean sheet. He was very aggressive in the first half, he had some good runs and it’s a great feeling for everyone, especially for him.”

Ben Davies

On Davinson’s display 
“He must think this league is easy! No, I thought he was great. He’s a proper centre-half, a player who will win headers, win challenges and we looked very solid at the back all-round, we didn’t give away too many chances and the quality we had on the ball when the defenders won it was great. He’s a top player, big, strong and he was in there when the ball came in long.”

Thoughts on getting forward and setting up goals himself 
“Early on you could see they were playing four at the back and quite a narrow midfield so there was a lot of space out there for me and when you have someone like Toby who can pick you out, it’s all you want – some space so you can try to get the ball into the box.”

On the attacking part of his game being so important 
“I’ll always have the mentality that defending comes first but if I can add to my attacking game as well, great. I’m always trying to learn and get better. It was nice to get an assist for the third goal and I played a big part in the second as well.”

Christian Eriksen

Impressions of Davinson at Goodison Park 
“He played very strongly, was very confident, everything was under control. His passing of course (having arrived) from Ajax is very good, calm. One-against-one he’s strong defensively, he’s quick and he’s a player who will only get better in time.”

Thoughts on the match 
“It was a tough game in the beginning but then Harry crossed the ball and it went in! We then got the confidence and the possibility to play our football. I thought we played a strong game, we didn’t give them much and we had our chances. Toby and I spoke before the game and we’ve had difficult games here at Everton, but we showed we’ve moved on, we’re a step further. Of course, they have a lot of new signings and they have to get used to everything but we showed we have the character and we know how to play football.”

On the reaction after conceding late against Burnley 
“Of course, that was a wake-up call. We had our chances, we didn’t take them but this time we took them. The first one was a bit of luck but that’s what you need sometimes to get control of the game and that’s what we had today.”

Harry Kane

On the team’s performance 
“It’s always tough here. Everton have a fantastic team, they’ve really strengthened in the transfer window but we played really well from back to front. We pressed high, made it difficult for them and in the attacking third we had some really good combinations. It was a solid game all-round. We’re really pleased.”

On the importance of winning after the Burnley draw 
“It’s always hard to take a result like that, especially just before the international break. You don’t get the chance to make up for it for a couple of weeks. It’s been on our minds for those two weeks but it’s great to come and get that result and hopefully we’ll push on from here.”