The important hidden influence Gylfi Sigurdsson had in Everton’s draw with Chelsea

Everton secured a good point against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge on Sunday, coming away from West London with a 0-0 draw.

There were a lot of positive aspects to take from the Blues’ display as Marco Silva’s side became the first team to stop the hosts scoring on their home turf so far this season.

And, usually, you might expect Gylfi Sigurdsson to be one of the major focal points of Everton’s attacking threat.

However, that wasn’t allowed to be the case against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge this weekend, with the hosts effectively managing to shut down the Blues front four for the majority of the match.

There were of course spells in which Silva’s side looked dangerous, and Sigurdsson was still key to them – one in particular being a fantastic pbad on his left foot to pick out a marauding Theo Walcott, only for the winger to mis-control the ball into the path of Kepa Arrizabalaga.

The attacking signs were there from Everton, they just didn’t quite come off this time, meaning the attacking midfielder was only able to make one key pbad throughout the 90 minutes in west London.

But, where that might mean other attacking midfielders would have no effect on a match, it just left a separate aspect of Sigurdsson’s game to stand out instead.

Blues supporters are already well aware of the changes that Silva has brought to the squad so far this season, with one mbadive change to the system being a focus on defending from the front.

This is something Sigurdsson excels at in his attacking midfield position, often placing himself almost alongside the lead striker whenever Everton are out of possession to try and nullify the effectiveness of opposition trying to play out from the back.

At Stamford Bridge, the 29-year-old was fantastic at this – and it completely removed the threat of one of Maurizio Sarri’s most influential players so far this term.

While you might expect Idrissa Gueye or one of Everton’s central defenders to have made the most tackles for the visiting side on Sunday it was in fact Sigurdsson, with his four putting him ahead of both Andre Gomes and Lucas Digne with three.

The midfielder’s willing attitude to the high-pressing style of Silva was also reflected in his interception numbers, again making four – which was the most out of anyone on the pitch.

And, as the manager made clear at the end of the match, the clear tactic was to stop one man in particular.

“We blocked well Jorginho and, in my opinion, he is one of the key players in Chelsea this season,” Silva said.

“It was one of the keys to block Jorginho. It was fantastic work from Sigurdsson and Richarlison in the first moments and then with Gomes and Gueye. My opinion he is one of the keys in Maurizio’s system and model this season.

“He controls all the match with and without the ball for Chelsea.”

Everton’s tactic worked.

Sigurdsson in particular played a crucial role in making sure the former Napoli man couldn’t have an impact on the match.

All the latest reaction to Everton’s draw is right HERE

Earlier in the term Jorginho set a Premier League record for most pbades in one match – but against Everton he made his least amount since making his move to Stamford Bridge in the summer.

The 26-year-old in fact got so frustrated that he should have been sent off in the first half for a dreadful tackle on Sigurdsson, before eventually being withdrawn by Sarri in the 66th minute.

It was a shame to see the Icelandic international substituted himself before the end of the match and leaving Stamford Bridge in a protective boot – with Silva admitting after the game he was concerned about the potential injury.

And the midfielder has now been ruled out of his national team’s matches against Belgium and Qatar in the coming week.

Everton will hope that problem isn’t too serious, however, as Sigurdsson has proven he is influential in a number of ways on this current squad – typified by his Chelsea display.