The Liverpool Echo’s head of sport David Prentice has heaped praise on James Rodriguez’s performance against Wolverhampton Wanderers.
In the Toffees’ latest outing in the Premier League, Carlo Ancelotti’s side travelled to Molineux and defeated Nuno Espirito Santo’s outfit 2-1 (per BBC).
The two goalscorers for the Merseyside outfit on the night were Alex Iwobi and Michael Keane (per WhoScored).
However, Everton’s Colombian midfielder still proved himself to be an essential part in the victory as he earned a 7.04/10 match rating, making him the Toffees’ fourth-best player.
During a recent episode of the Liverpool Echo’s Royal Blue: The Everton FC Podcast, Prentice reserved special praise for the former Real Madrid man.
He said: “The unexpected bonus, for me, of the slightly strange lineup, is the freedom it gave James Rodriguez.
“I mean, I know he largely does what he wants anyway, but he was actually given carte blanche to do what he wants and I just thought he was magnificent.
“So much of the work that he did was so creative and made things happen.
“I know the finish was great from Iwobi and I know that the layoff from Lucas Digne was excellent, but that was just made entirely by James Rodriguez – the turn and the switching of play.
“It was almost like [he was] just given that freedom to express himself and do what he wants, he revelled in it.
“I was absolutely thrilled to see him play, it was the James that we really enjoyed at the start of the season back again.”
TIF Thoughts on what David Prentice said about James Rodriguez…
As can be seen in what the journalist had to say, he believes that Rodriguez showed the impressive form that he displayed earlier in the season during the win against the Old Gold.
Would you still consider James Rodriguez to be a world-class player?
No, he's not quite sadly
Yes, he is still unreal
Certainly, looking at his stats from the game at Molineux, it is clear to see why Prentice was so impressed by the Colombian’s performance.
He made the most key passes for the Toffees on the night with two, the second-most accurate long balls with five and also he made Everton’s only accurate through ball (per WhoScored).
So, it is abundantly clear to see what a creative force the 29-year-old midfielder was against Nuno Santo’s outfit.