Former Arsenal great Ian Wright heaped praise on Everton forward Bernard after his excellent showing in the club’s 2-1 win over Leicester City on Saturday.
The 5ft 4in Brazilian [Transfermarkt] got his first meaningful taste of Premier League action against Claude Puel’s side, and his performance certainly didn’t disappoint Wright.
“Bernard, four sub appearances up to this point,” he told Match of the Day [6th October; 41:50]. “free transfer from Shakhtar Donetsk, looks a good signing. Really good on the ball, quality.
“He puts this one in, and then when it comes back out he’s got so much time. You see the skill and the quality there. Squared him up and then there’s a great cross, Richarlison – bam. They’re looking really good and with the quality he’s got, and [Gylfi] Sigurdsson, there’s a lot of creativity.”
OPINION
Everything Wright said is correct. Bernard was terrific against Leicester, showing why the club fought so hard to bring him in this summer. The Brazilian has always had the talent so it’s about being more consistent now and flourishing on a week to week basis. Luckily, he appears to have the manager in Marco Silva to make that a reality. The Portuguese favours an attacking style of football that is bringing the best out of players like Bernard, Sigurdsson and Richarlison. The diminutive 26-year-old produced a lovely bit of skill to get away from his marker and deliver a pin point cross for his countryman Richarlison to open the scoring on Saturday, and it’s little bits of quality like that that can make the difference between victory and defeat in the Premier League. If Bernard can continue to play like that, though, the Toffees will come off on the winning side more often than not.