Robin Olsen says he is savouring life as an Everton player as he revealed his pride in playing a key part in an impressive team effort against Leeds United on Wednesday night.
Everton won 2-1 at Elland Road to record a fourth successive Premier League away victory and seventh in total on the road this season.
Goals from Gylfi Sigurdsson and Dominic Calvert-Lewin put the Blues in control before Raphinha halved the deficit for Leeds shortly after half-time.
The home team applied pressure in search of an equaliser but found the Everton defence in resilient and determined form. And when they were able to get shots on goal, Olsen repelled their efforts with a series of fine stops.
Everton boss Ancelotti saluted Olsen’s “super saves” and has regularly spoken of his desire to sign the goalkeeper – who is on a season-long loan from Serie A side Roma – on a permanent deal.
“I’m happy for that [Ancelotti’s comments],” Olsen told evertontv. “It means a lot.
“It keeps me motivated to just keep working hard and playing well.
“I am really enjoying being here. The players have all welcomed me and I felt I was part of the group pretty early on.
“Then it was up to me to train hard, work hard and take my chances when I get them. I will keep trying to do that.”
A spectacular triple-save just after the hour-mark represented the standout moment of Olsen’s fine performance at Elland Road.
His athleticism and sharp reflexes were tested when Mateusz Klich’s 20-yard strike was deflected towards goal by striker Patrick Bamford.
Olsen made a rapid adjustment to make the block before diving to his left to palm the ball away.
The dangerous Raphinha was waiting to pounce, however, and hammered a shot from close range but the Swede was again alert to make another fine stop with his legs.
“It was a difficult one,” said Olsen.
“I think Bamford touched it [Klich’s shot], so I had to go down to the right.
“Then I just saw the ball up in the air and tried to reach it to get it away.
“And then suddenly they had a player out to the left also – the ball was going to him but I just tried to close the near post and luckily I saved with my foot.”
The victory over Leeds keeps Everton firmly in touch with the Champions League qualifying positions.
The Blues are four points behind fourth-placed Liverpool and have two games in hand on their city rivals.
Olsen believes the nature of Everton’s hard-fought win at Leeds will add to the team’s belief ahead of Saturday’s clash against Manchester United at Old Trafford (8pm GMT).
“We knew Leeds would be a really difficult game,” he said.
“They run a lot and we knew that we needed to run a lot also.
“To stand behind the players and to see how hard they work, I am really proud of the boys.
“We needed a victory to bounce back after the last game. It was great to do it against a good team like Leeds. It was really important for us.
“We will start to look at United and see what we need to do against them.
“We have good confidence in the team.”
