Micah Richards reacts to Abdoulaye Doucoure’s display in Everton win

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Micah Richards has told Match of the Day (broadcast on 16/12; 23:36) that Abdoulaye Doucoure fully deserved the man of the match award from Everton’s win over Leicester City on Wednesday.

The Toffees secured their first back-to-back victories since the start of October. Goals from Richarlison and Mason Holgate saw them leave the King Power Stadium with the three points.

Doucoure meanwhile, produced a colossal performance in the middle of the park. As shown by Whoscored.com, he completed more passes than any other Everton player.

He also won two tackles and made two interceptions. And following the game, Richards insisted that he was hugely impressed by what he saw from the 27-year-old, who had to play in a couple of different roles over the course of the evening.

“What a performance. He was everywhere today, and he fully deserved man of the match,” he told Match of the Day.

“He was intent from the very first moment. He was a little bit offensive in the first-half when Allan was on. But when Allan went off, he went into a defensive role and started to dictate the play.”

TBR View: Doucoure proving a bargain signing for Toffees

According to BBC Sport, Everton paid £20 million for Doucoure in the summer. Of course, that figure may have been largely down to Watford’s relegation to the Championship.

But there is surely no question that that sort of fee is proving an absolute bargain.

He has perhaps been overshadowed by Allan at times. But he was outstanding on Wednesday against a very good Leicester side – and maintained those levels when his task changed after Allan had been taken off.

And the win leaves Everton right back in the mix for the top four heading into their weekend clash with Arsenal.