Richarlison's 75th-minute winner secures Everton a vital three points at Southampton
Saturday 9 November 2019 21:32, UK
Everton manager Marco Silva has dismissed claims he was under pressure after seeing his side record a crucial 2-1 win over Southampton at St Mary's.
Danny Ings cancelled out Tom Davies' opener, but Richarlison pounced with 15 minutes remaining to secure Everton's first away league win of the season at the sixth time of asking.
Silva believes his side might had earned an extra five points from their previous two league games - with the Premier League confirming Brighton were wrongly awarded a penalty during their 3-2 win at the Amex Stadium a fortnight ago.
But despite fresh newspaper reports of a potential managerial change at Goodison Park during the international break - and visible outpourings of emotion after both Everton goals - the Portuguese insists he has never felt his position was under scrutiny.
"No, myself? Why would I be feeling the pressure? Maybe if you spoke more about football and less about speculation it would be different," he said at his post-match press conference.
"I never feel pressure, which is good for me because I don't agree with what's written sometimes. For me, football is always a privilege. Being manager of Everton is always a privilege.
"For me, it is how I look to life and to my job. We had a clear objective and we knew they would want to come and show their character, personality and win a football match. We had to be brave like they would be in their first match since the Leicester game. We had to match their aggression and then enjoy what we are doing.
"I put pressure on myself and my staff every single day and I push my players to be better every single day. All the other things are just rumour and I didn't lose one second thinking about that."
Despite Silva's refusal to appear perturbed by speculation surrounding his future, this was a significant result for his team. Everton have been wretched on the road this season, failing to replicate their form at Goodison, and this ended a run of four consecutive away losses in the Premier League.
A first win on the road in nine attempts, previously earning all three points at West Ham in March, lifts them to 13th in the table and there is now a far brighter outlook heading into the international break.
The same cannot be said for Southampton, who slumped to a fourth consecutive home defeat at St. Mary's for the very first time, and they failed to muster a single shot on goal in the opening 45 minutes.
Ralph Hasenhuttl faces an anxious fortnight searching for answers with his side marooned in the relegation zone with just eight points from their opening 12 games.
The Austrian had no complaints about the result, stating: "When I see my team's performance in the first half, normally you don't get anything in football. We conceded a very early goal, and this has happened very often in our home games. After this, you could feel the lack of self-confidence.
"All we prepared for this game was gone in that moment. Nobody wanted to have the ball anymore, and the spaces we wanted to use, nobody saw. We weren't brave enough and simply we weren't good enough. At half-time, I felt Sofiane brought us more risks and was more offensive. We gave a good reaction at the beginning of the second half.
"Sofiane gave us a real lift and we got the equaliser, but when we defend like this, and are exposed like we were [for the second goal], this simply isn't good enough."
Southampton travel to face Arsenal in the Premier League at the Emirates Stadium on Saturday, November 23 at 3pm while Everton host Norwich City on the same day and at the same time at Goodison Park.
