West Ham star's England call as long wait ends and Everton win shows scale of Moyes' progress

The biggest take away from a West Ham point of view yesterday afternoon was how ordinary it all felt. They did not play particularly well but such is their improvement and growth over the past two years they can win games with a degree of comfort against low-quality opponents without having to be at their top level.

You could sense it on the pitch and you could hear and feel it in the stands. There have been some raucous atmospheres at London Stadium this season,a sense that the ground is finally beginning to resemble a home.

Beforehand David Moyes had played down any risk of Thursday’s Europa League quarter-final against Lyon being a distraction, saying there was no risk of Everton being undermined or one eye drifting to Thursday. And yet it was impossible not to consider this simply a day to get the job done and move on quickly.

Player ratings from Everton win

“We could have been cleaner at times with what we'd done but at this time of the season happy to take the points and move on,” Moyes said afterwards, echoing that sense.

The atmosphere was subdued for long spells too, especially in the minutes before Aaron Cresswell’s opener. Perhaps many were saving their voices for Thursday. The risk then may be over-excitement clouding judgment.

It’s a common held view that Cresswell is a key asset when it comes to set pieces but yesterday was his first time scoring from a direct free kick since a 2-0 win over Manchester United in September 2019. That was also swung into the top right corner to leave the opposition goalkeeper with no chance and it was amusing to hear Moyes poke some fun at the wait afterwards before underlining the left back’s importance to the team while recognising how he has struggled to regain top form