Everton boss Marco Silva described the way his side’s Carabao Cup tie against Watford played out as “fair” after they secured a quarter-final spot with a 2-0 win on Tuesday night.
Mason Holgate scored a 72nd-minute header at Goodison Park and ex-Hornet Richarlison wrapped things up with a stoppage-time strike.
After a lacklustre first half to the contest, Everton went close a number of times prior to Holgate notching the opener, with efforts from Alex Iwobi and Lucas Digne hitting the woodwork.
The win came three days on from a 3-2 Premier League defeat at Brighton that left Silva questioning VAR after a contentious late penalty was awarded against his team.
After Tuesday’s victory against his old club, it was put to Silva that his reaction to the goals had been quite subdued, and he was asked what he had been feeling.
The Portuguese replied: “Fair – I think it was fair for our team and our players. This is the main thing.
“I think at that moment my thinking was it was fair, because everything we were doing in the second half, the chances we created, I think it was fair.
“Come from a game and possibly you are here talking about, if it was fair, three wins in a row.
“You know why we are not talking about three wins in a row with a win this evening. Of course it was a tough afternoon for us on Saturday at Brighton.
“We want to keep in this competition as well. We will do our maximum to go until the end in this competition, and we deserved it.
“In that moment, what I felt was our players, we as a team, deserved the goal.”
Silva, whose side’s 2-0 win over West Ham before the Brighton game had been preceded by four-successive losses in the league, added: “(It was) not just a matter of relief (at the final whistle).
“We got what was our goal before the game, and to be fair, we deserved it, we were the best team on the pitch.
“The players showed the passions we need in these type of games, playing against a team that comes here and plays with a solid block.
“They (Watford) defined well the pressure in first half, and in some moments we played too slow, tried to play too safe.
“Second half was different – we scored twice, we had more chances, and we performed well, playing faster, quicker, and we deserved the win.”
