Joao Virginia details what Ancelotti told him before Everton debut v Burnley
Everton goalkeeper Joao Virginia has revealed what Carlo Ancelotti told him before he came on against Burnley on Saturday.
The 21-year old made his Premier League debut against the Clarets after Jordan Pickford was forced off through injury shortly before half-time, with usual second-choice Robin Olsen also out through injury.
Everton were losing 2-1 at the time and Virginia made a number of saves to prevent Sean Dyche’s men from extending the scoreline.
Portugal youth international Virginia, who signed for Everton from Arsenal in 2018, made his first-team debut for the Toffees against Salford City earlier this season.
However it would be almost six months before Ancelotti and goalkeeping coach Alan Kelly would call upon on him again.
Talking about what Ancelotti and Kelly told him when reflecting upon his debut [Liverpool Echo], Virginia said: “The manager and Alan told me to be confident and keep it simple and let the game come to me.
“That’s what I did. I waited for the game to come to me and everything went well. I’ve been training really well and I’ve been waiting for this moment.
“You have to work every day in training and be ready in every matchday because it can happen. You have to be ready for it.”
Composed display
It was very much a baptism of fire for Virginia, with Everton having not played well at all before he came on, with the Blues seemingly inviting pressure from Burnley.
Virginia previously had a loan spell with Reading in the Championship and it did not go well for him, in that he made a number of high profile errors that led directly to goals being scored against him and him being dropped.
In spite of that though, he didn’t show that he was nervous against the Clarets, if indeed he was nervous at all.
Virginia did make one fluffed clearance but that was due to a late touch by Ben Godfrey that changed the flight path of the ball, so it’s hard to blame the shot-stopper for that particular mistake.
With both Olsen and Pickford potentially out of this weekend’s FA Cup clash with Manchester City, Virginia might be required to deputise once again.
Hopefully, in that game he can do the same, keep it simple and let the game come to him, because it’ll certainly be a tough contest for the young goalkeeper.
In other Everton news, Ancelotti is interested in selling Lucas Digne in order to fund a move for Tottenham defender Sergio Reguilon.