Derby County thrashed Leyton Orient 3-0 at Brisbane Road on Saturday afternoon and Louie Sibley was a stand-out performer during that rout.
Derby sent a convincing message out to their fellow promotion rivals as goals from Nathaniel Mendez-Laing, Louie Sibley and Tom Barkhuizen secured a vital victory.
It saw the Rams make it five consecutive wins in League One and move to within three points of second-place Bolton Wanderers, who take on league leaders Portsmouth this evening.
After an uncertain start to the season, Paul Warne’s side are now on a roll and have shown they aren’t just here to make up the numbers inside the top six, they want a place in that top two.
In the win over Orient, Warne got several selection decisions correct and those proved pivotal in their control of the match.
One of those was starting Joe Ward at right back – who wreaked havoc down the right flank – and the other was moving Louie Sibley into a central attacking midfield role alongside Max Bird.
How did Louie Sibley perform v Orient?
Although Nathaniel Mendez-Laing ran riot down the left flank for the Rams, Louie Sibley’s performance as a playmaker – who was given the license to float in between the lines – caught the eye.
The 22-year-old has been predominantly used as a left or right winger for Derby this season, but he instantly reaped the benefits of his positional freedom centrally and grabbed the game’s opening goal.
He picked up the ball inside his opponent’s half and produced a superb low-driven strike which sent the visitors on their way to three points.
Despite finding opportunities at a premium with this being only his sixth start of the season, Sibley was instrumental to Derby’s attacking play, registering two shots on target, one key pass and two crosses, as per Sofascore.
Having showcased his incredible quality from a central position, Korey Smith – who was used as a number 10 – will now struggle to break back into the side once he returns from injury.
What is next for Sibley?
If Sibley is to live up to the potential that his formative years promised, consistency is key for the youngster.
Although he showed his class against a side battling close to the bottom, the 22-year-old now has to turn up in the big matches.
With seven of those to come in the space of a month, Warne needs his best players fit and firing, including Sibley, to launch a challenge on the league’s top two.
However, to achieve this, the youngster must translate his most recent performance across to those fixtures and that will see him keep Smith out of the team.