Maitland-Niles makes instant Everton impact but insists starting place must be earned

Ainsley Maitland-Niles marked his Everton debut with a stoppage-time equaliser against Manchester United, but says he will have to fight for a regular place in the team.

The 29-year-old came off the bench after joining Everton from Lyon for £4m on transfer deadline day. He made an immediate impression by curling a superb effort into the top corner in the sixth minute of added time to secure a 2-2 draw.

“It is definitely up there with one of my favourite debuts,” Maitland-Niles told BBC Radio Merseyside. “It is an indescribable feeling. Really emotional being out there and experiencing it first hand.”

Everton twice came from behind and finished strongly, pushing Manchester United back during the closing stages. Maitland-Niles said the result felt “like a win” because of the way his side responded.

“We deserved a point way before I scored,” he said. “We showed fighting spirit and pinned them back and we just needed to find that little moment of excellence.”

Despite his dramatic introduction, Maitland-Niles is not assuming he has secured a starting role as he begins life at his new club.

Everton signed him to help solve a long-standing issue at right-back after Seamus Coleman’s retirement and Nathan Patterson’s move to Torino. He is the only recognised senior right-back in a squad of just 18 senior players, with midfielder Merlin Rohl also having covered in the position.

Maitland-Niles expects to establish himself at right-back in time, but accepts that he must first earn the confidence of his new team-mates.

“It’s a fighting team,” he said. “If you’re not a fighter here, they won’t respect you. So, you have to earn your respect by fighting as much as they do – if not more.”

His equaliser came at 95:11 and was Everton’s latest Premier League goal at their new stadium. It also made Maitland-Niles the first player in the club’s history to score from outside the penalty area on his Premier League debut.

The late goal extended Everton’s unbeaten start to the season. Maitland-Niles believes the squad has enough ability to achieve its ambitions despite what he described as a difficult transfer window.

“We’ve got the quality in our team to be able to win games, come up with draws, show fighting spirit,” he said. “We’ve got quality all over, so we can definitely do something this season.”

Everton are eighth in the table and will travel to Tottenham on 12 September.