Keane’s towering header lifts Everton
Victory takes Ancelotti’s men up to fourth
MICHAEL Keane’s late header took Everton to within a point of Liverpool as Carlo Ancelotti’s side kept themselves i n the title race.
With the game apparently heading for a draw, Keane produced a towering header 13 minutes from time to send substitute Andre Gomes’ cross past Rui Patricio. Earlier, Ruben Neves’ equaliser for the home side had cancelled out Alex Iwobi’s opener to leave the scores level at half-time.
At the interval, indeed, the spirit between the sides was perhaps a little friendlier than either coach would have wanted.
Even t hough t he Premier League wrote to all clubs last week to urge their players to avoid swapping shirts among a number of tough new coronavirus guidelines, it seems not everyone received the memo.
Soon after Martin Atkinson had blown his whistle, Everton playmaker James Rodriguez appeared to exchange his jersey with Wolves striker Fabio Silva. As he walked off, James then approached Wolves midfielder Joao Moutinho — a former team-mate at Porto —and took his shirt, too.
If the incident is reported, the Premier League are certain to take a dim view after warning clubs that the Government are watching football closely amid a rise in Covid cases in the UK. There is no appetite in the Premier League to pause football but they are desperate not to give ministers any reason to do so.
The victory takes Everton up to fourth while Wolves have now won only one of their last eight league games. The absence of Raul Jimenez after suffering a serious head injury at Arsenal in November, continues to hurt them.
Without top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has a hamstring injury, and with Richarlison fit enough only for a place on the bench, Carlo Ancelotti paired James Rodriguez with Gylfi Sigurdsson to provide the edge in a fluid 4-4-2 formation.
It paid off quickly for Everton, who took the lead in the sixth minute. James played a superb crossfield pass to the left where Lucas Digne — making his first league appearance since November after recovering from injury — played it back to the edge of the box. Nobody had followed Iwobi in from the flank and the former Arsenal man had plenty of time and space to plant a shot beyond Patricio from 20 yards.
At this stage, Wolves were all over the place. Adama Traore was missing due to injury, so Morgan Gibbs-White — recalled from his loan at Swansea — was making his first league start since August 2019 and was used in an unfamiliar false nine role, with Fabio Silva pushed to the left.
Yet when Tom Davies conceded a needless corner in the 14th minute, Wolves equalised. Yerry Mina failed to clear Pedro Neto’s kick, allowing Rayan Ait-Nouri to turn the ball back in the danger zone, where Neves volleyed it in from close range.
Having had a hand in that goal, Neves nearly created another when he collected Leander Dendoncker’s pass and found Silva eight yards out, only for Jordan Pickford to make a good save.
At the other end, Iwobi was having plenty of joy on the right but he should have done better than shoot straight at Patricio after James’ pass had sent him clear.
Both teams were prepared to play expansively yet their approach work was not always matched by the finishing. Wolves left back Ait-Nouri, who looks far happier going forward than doing the day job, ran on to GibbsWhite’s pass and picked out Dendoncker on the edge of the box but the Belgian shot well wide.
Early in the second half, Wolves danger man Neto took a hefty whack from Abdoulaye Doucoure, which brought a booking for the Everton midfielder. Neto seemed in some pain but was able to continue after lengthy treatment. Dendoncker then headed over Moutinho’s free-kick from an inviting position.
Neves is renowned for his ability to score spectacular goals and in the 70th minute he nearly produced another, controlling a dropping ball 30 yards out and sending a dipping volley a fraction over the bar. Keane’s i ntervention moments l ater proved far more telling as he climbed brilliantly at the far post to give Patricio no chance.
WOLVES (4-3-3): Patricio 6; Semedo 6, Coady 6.5, Saiss 6.5, Ait-Nouri 6.5; Dendoncker 6, Neves 7, Moutinho 6 (Vitinha 86mins); Neto 7, Gibbs-White 6.5 (Hoever 64, 6), Silva 5.5 (Cutrone 79). Subs not used: Ruddy, Shabani, Richards, Kilman, Lonwijk, Corbeanu. Scorer: Neves 14. Booked: Semedo, Hoever. Manager: Nuno Espirito Santo 6.
EVERTON (4-4-2): Pickford 5.5; Holgate 6, Mina 5.5, Keane 7, Godfrey 6; IWOBI 7.5, Doucoure 6, Davies 6 (Gomes 64, 6), Digne 6.5; Rodriguez 6.5 (Coleman 86), Sigurdsson 5.5 (Richarlison 76). Subs not used: Olsen, Kenny, Tosun, Nkounkou, Bernard, Gordon. Scorers: Iwobi 14, Keane 77. Booked: Doucoure, Holgate. Manager: Carlo Ancelotti 6.5. Referee: Martin Atkinson 6.