David Moyes said Thierno Barry had proved his point after the Everton striker’s double inspired a 3-1 win against Coventry on Friday.
Moyes’s side trailed to Yann Gboho’s goal early in the second half at the Hill Dickinson Stadium.
But Barry proved too hot for Coventry to handle, netting twice in the space of just five minutes to turn the game in Everton’s favour.
Barry has already reached 10 goals this season, surpassing his total for the entire 2025-26 campaign.
That miserable first season with Everton following his move from Villarreal is quickly becoming a distant memory of the in-form 24-year-old, who has six goals in his last seven appearances in all competitions.
“We gave away a really poor goal but the reaction from there was really good. Important that Thierno Barry got another couple of goals tonight which was huge for us,” Moyes said.
“He can smile at me now and say I told you so and that’s good. We always liked him and we want him to keep scoring.”
Barry had been known for squandering chances that seemed impossible to miss last season, but he has been far more clinical this term.
“He’s missed quite a few chances but tonight he got important goals for us,” Moyes said after he equalled Harry Catterick’s Everton record 592 games in charge.
“He’s becoming an important piece for us and he’s got 10 goals for us which is really good.”
Among Premier League players, only Manchester City striker Erling Haaland has scored more goals than Barry in all competitions this season.
“I’m very happy because I’m a fan of him. I watch a lot of videos of him and try and do the things he does,” Barry said.
“If I can stay with him until the end to get the Golden Boot I will try.”
Everton are up to fifth place following their third successive win in all competitions.
“We got a performance and we got a result but I have to say Coventry made it really difficult for us. In the end we got the goals which mattered,” Moyes said.
Coventry boss Frank Lampard was left frustrated with a pair of rejected penalty appeals that could have turned the match in his side’s favour.
Lampard, who managed Everton from January 2022 to January 2023, said: “Big decisions affected the game, clearly.
“VAR looked at them. The James Tarkowski hair pull on Caleb Yirenkyi, then Vitaliy Mykolenko on Taiwo Awoniyi, I think he gets contact on the edge of the box which is a penalty.
“The second goal for them comes off the player’s hand. If you’re going to check the angles, there is an angle where it flicks in off his hand. VAR looked at it and decided not.
“The last touch to score is off the hand, in my opinion. I’ve seen a conclusive angle so I can disagree.”