Martinez salutes Everton´s qualification

Roberto Martinez saluted his players for not being complacent as Everton became the last English team standing in the UEFA Europa League.

Everton manager Roberto Martinez was left satisfied after the Merseyside club accounted for Young Boys to advance to the round of 16 in the UEFA Europa League on Thursday.

A Romelu Lukaku brace inspired Everton to a 3-1 second-leg victory at Goodison Park.

Lukaku cancelled out Sekou Sanogo’s 13th-minute opener before fellow Belgium international Kevin Mirallas sealed a 7-2 aggregate success against the Swiss club.

Everton are the only Premier League team remaining in the competition after Liverpool and Tottenham bowed out on Thursday, something that pleases Martinez.

“It was an interesting game to see how we could cope with playing in a second leg,” he explained. “We had such a good lead and sometimes that can affect the way you want to perform.

“We knew Young Boys had a fantastic result against FC Basel in their domestic league and I admire their team because they are an attacking side who want to get on the ball.

“We made it an open game. I was very satisfied with the way we scored three goals and created a number of good opportunities.

“To be the last British team left in the Europa League is a very satisfying achievement and we have been very, very pleased with the way we have played both games in this particular tie.”