Abdoulaye Doucoure has explained how a complete overhaul of his game is responsible for his impressive start to the season.
The midfielder made the switch to Everton from Watford last summer and quickly established himself as one of the most crucial members of the Blues squad.
In the 34 appearances he made last season, the Frenchman was often deployed in a deeper midfield position than the one he played for Watford.
But with Rafa Benitez having replaced Carlo Ancelotti in the summer, Doucoure has played much further forward so far this season.
The Frenchman collected his second goal of the season in the win over Norwich City on Saturday, while his three assists this season matches his total from the 2020/21 campaign.
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And Doucoure has revealed the advice of his new boss is one of the main reasons behind his productive start to the season.
“I am very happy with the games I’ve played this season and I am learning with the manager every day,” he told evertonfc.com.
“Everything changed in my game and my understanding of the game improved.
“The manager gave me a lot of advice – simple advice that makes a difference – and I try to take that on the pitch and help the team as much as I can.
“It was massive against Norwich for our position in the table and to come back to Goodison and win after a difficult week.
“We had to learn from what happened at Aston Villa. The Premier League is very tough and you have to be 100 per cent in every aspect.
“The margins were really fine in that game but there were things we should have done better.
“It was a setback but it was really important we kept working hard to continue the momentum we built from the start of the season.”
The win over Daniel Farke’s side kept the Blues in fifth position in the Premier League table ahead of this weekend’s clash with Manchester United at Old Trafford.
“It is a very good start, we have a massive game at the weekend and all the focus this week is on having a very good result at United,” Doucoure added on Saturday’s game.
“We did some good things against Norwich. It was a positive start to the game but for a while after our first goal they pushed us back.
“We worked well as a team and had a strong reaction after our second goal when we could have scored more. But the most important thing was to win.
“We feel very good and are happy with the number of points we have but it is only the beginning and we have to keep working to improve.”
