OPINION
With Everton midfielder Andre Gomes ruled out for three games due to a suspension, the battle to take his spot against Manchester United on Sunday was well and truly on.
Morgan Schneiderlin ended up winning that battle, leaving the likes of Tom Davies and James McCarthy out in the cold – however, Marco Silva definitely made the right decision.
There were no signs of rust from the 29-year-old, and he stood up to the task of facing United incredibly well, gliding all over the pitch alongside Idrissa Gueye.
To be honest, there was hardly anything to fault from his performance on Sunday, and this will no doubt leave the likes of Davies without even much of a look-in from now on. There is no way that Silva is going to drop the Frenchman for their next fixture against Crystal Palace, is there?
With Gomes out, this was the perfect opportunity for Davies to stake his claim for a first team place. Unfortunately for him, it has not panned out that way in the slightest after Schneiderlin’s head-turning display.
Keeping Paul Pogba quiet can often be a very difficult task to carry out, but Schneiderlin – who is on £100,000-a-week [Spotrac] – made it look extremely easy, and he without a doubt won the battle between the pair on Sunday.
Nevertheless, the likes of Davies will be surely given the cold shoulder after this performance. They would have to do a lot to usurp him from his starting spot now – Gomes would have even got sweaty palms after witnessing his teammate in action.
This is quite the turnaround from Schneiderlin, especially as he was not even considered at the start of the season by Silva. That being said, he knew that he had to perform to get back in Silva’s plans, and that is something he has done with ease.