What Liverpool’s Hugo Ekitike said about Everton that David Moyes will be happy to hear

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Everton have a lot of positives to take out of the Merseyside Derby despite losing 2-1 to Liverpool.

Wayne Rooney said Everton were the better side in the second half; his only criticism was that the substitutions didn’t come earlier.

Ally McCoist was impressed, too, and admitted David Moyes should be really proud of Everton’s performance.

Moyes was furious with the officiating and was seen remonstrating with the referee at full-time, so that was his initial emotion.

Hugo Ekitike gave his reaction to the game post-match and said something that Moyes will be pleased with.

• READ MORE: Ally McCoist says ‘brilliant’ Everton player was the real Man of the Match in Liverpool loss

What Hugo Ekitike said about Everton after the game

Ekitike scored Liverpool’s second goal of the game, which ultimately proved to be the decisive one.

Speaking to TNT Sports post-match, the £79m striker admitted he found it really difficult to play against Everton.

“It’s a good feeling [to beat Everton],” Ekitike said. “We knew it would be a tough game, and it was. We had to fight right until the end.”

The match statistics reflect that, as the Toffees had nine shots to Liverpool’s 11 and two on target compared to their three, so it was a close game which was decided by a poor start from the visitors.

Ekitike’s admission shows how far the team has come, though, with the gap on Liverpool clearly a lot closer than in previous years.

Everton’s next three fixtures

Everton return to action on Tuesday evening, as they take on Wolverhampton Wanderers at Molineux in the fourth round of the Carabao Cup.

Then, the Toffees don’t play until Monday night when they play host to West Ham United at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Sean Dyche could even be in the West Ham dugout, as he’s being considered to replace the under-fire Graham Potter.

Another home game ensues after that, this time against Crystal Palace, so if Everton are to realise their goals and qualify for Europe, they’ll be looking to win all three.