Sunday 16 April 2017 12:01, UK
Ronald Koeman praised Ross Barkley's reaction after he put a testing week behind him to help Everton beat Burnley 3-1 on Saturday.
The midfielder was punched in a nightclub last weekend and was then at the centre of a controversial story that led to Everton banning The Sun newspaper.
But he was influential on the pitch against Burnley and it was his shot that deflected in off Michael Keane and Ben Mee to put the Toffees 2-1 ahead in the 71st minute.
"We know all that stuff off the pitch is not the best," said Koeman. "But he dealt with it really well and showed today he was focused. He showed his qualities in the second half.
"What happened last week had a big impact on him. But he was focused on the football side. I also myself did some stupid things when I was 19, 20, 21. As long as you learn."
Phil Jagielka was similarly effusive in his praise of Barkley, adding: "I've known Ross for a long time now. He's been around the first-team for a long, long time and nothing fazes him.
"These things can happen. It's not ideal but, character-wise, he was still out there for the Academy Day this week and joined in. He's a normal lad who likes to play football and I'm going to give him that goal, even though it might only go down as an assist."
Barkley twice cleared headers off the line as Everton were made to work hard for a club-record eighth straight Premier League home win.
"It took until 30 minutes to understand what we needed to do today," added Koeman. "Burnley were a really tough opponent, they are strong and we know they play direct football.
"They showed more aggression than us from the start, made it tough, and we were lucky not to be behind. The second half was much better.
"We kept calm and finally we deserved to win. We had some good chances and 3-1 is a really good result."
Jagielka headed Everton in front before Sam Vokes levelled from the penalty spot after a clumsy foul by goalkeeper Joel Robles.
"We had a good goal for 1-0 but we made mistakes for 1-1," reflected Koeman. "Morgan [Schneiderlin] needs to win the tackle in midfield and Joel can't make that foul in that position."
The win lifts Everton into fifth above Manchester United and Arsenal, who play on Sunday and Monday respectively.
Koeman said: "The goal now is give some competition to the teams above. We have the same points as Man Utd, three more than Arsenal, but we know they have games in hand. It's a good win and if we finish strong then everything is possible."
