Roberto Martinez hails Ross Barkley after Premier League landmark
Wednesday 3 February 2016 23:39, UK
Roberto Martinez paid tribute to Ross Barkley after the Everton midfielder scored twice on his 100th Premier League appearance.
Barkley marked his landmark game with two penalties in the closing stages as Everton cruised to a 3-0 win over Newcastle at Goodison Park, taking his tally for the season into double figures in all competitions.
The England international has four goals in his last four games, and Martinez believes the rest of his team feeds on Barkley's energy when he's playing at the top of his game.
"One hundred games in the Premier League at 22 is not an easy landmark to achieve," Martinez said. "If you look at Ross, he is not just a young man any more. He is a player fulfilling a big role in a very important team; a team with expectations.
"I thought the way he played throughout the game showed that maturity and he was very contagious in the way we played.
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"The way he takes the penalties is just what he is; a really technically gifted footballer. Overall it was a really impressive 100th game in the Premier League for Ross."
The win over Steve McClaren's side was Everton's first in the league since their victory in the reverse fixture at St James' Park on Boxing Day, and Martinez admitted it was an important return to form.
"For many reasons it was an extra significant three points," he added. "With the amount of points we have dropped in games where we should have grabbed the win, today was very important."
The Toffees got the better of Manchester City and Dagenham and Redbridge at Goodison Park in the Capital One Cup and FA Cup respectively in January, but had not won at home in the Premier League since late November and Martinez was pleased to break that record.
"It gets you over 30 points and allows you to get a real mature look about the performance at home," Martinez continued. "We really enjoyed playing in front of our own crowd.
"We worked hard for each other and the way we controlled the game was very pleasing."
