The Argentinian ‘eye candy’ is our pick of such a bad day at the office, after a good performance saw the defender score a goal and look decent at the back, even with the disappointment of such a dramatic loss.
The South American had Evertonian eyebrows raised in the summer, as fans looked to find out as much as they could about the 24-year-old after he became the Blues’ most expensive defensive in their history, with a price tag of £9.5m.
In the game today, we saw the usual swagger from the centre-back, he often intercepted a pass by getting in front of the Bournemouth attacker and looked to burst into midfield and play a pass forward to get the Everton attack moving. That positivity is exactly what the fans want to see, with Mori and Stones able to provide that.
It is odd to have a defender be part of a backline that conceded 3 goals and still have a good match, but for each of the three goals blame could not be pinned on Mori. It was Brendan Galloway who had a shocker in the second half, and was at fault for most of the Bournemouth chances. Mori could possibly have been better placed for Bournemouth’s final goal, but that would be extremely critical of the defender.
It is too early to say if he warrants such a big fee, but from what we have seen so far he is going a long way to doing justifying the outlay. Funes Mori has become a mainstay in the Everton team since captain Phil Jagielka got injured, but the way things are panning out, it will be extremely difficult for the Englishman to get back into the team.
Often playing from the back, Jagielka struggles, while Stones next to him can turn defence into attack within seconds. It seems as though Mori compliments Stones much better in that regard and with two defenders who can take the ball out of defence Everton can implement this possession-based playing from the back which Roberto Martinez loves.
One of the biggest positives of Funes Mori comes with his age. At the tender age of 24, he can only improve. It seems as though both the Argentinian and Stones play with the confidence and ability of a veteran defender, and the pair constantly improving. It seems like 10 years ago since both Jagielka (33) and Sylvain Distin (37) made up central defence.
It may be difficult for Everton to keep hold of both Funes Mori and Stones if they continue their impressive form, but all we can do for now is enjoying having them at the club, and watch them mature into top level centre-halves.
Even after such a disappointing result, there has to be some shining light, and a great chant is just that.
‘What’s the story, Funes Mori.’
