Everton manager Ronald Koeman has praised Enner Valencia for his performance against Chelsea after he was handed a rare place in the starting lineup at Goodison Park.

The 27-year-old, who joined the Toffees from West Ham United on loan at the beginning of the season, has started just six games in all competitions.

He was given the nod by Koeman to start alongside striker Romelu Lukaku on Sunday, but he failed to get on the scoresheet as Chelsea won 3-0.

"He did well," the Liverpool Echo quotes Koeman as saying. "He was running, making it really difficult and winning headers.

"Maybe he needed a little bit more control in his last pass to Romelu, then we could have created a bigger chance than we did. But he was dangerous, he was working hard, he was part of the team and that's good."

The result prevented Everton from extending their record of home wins to nine.

Written by
Danielle Joynson