JORDAN IN FACE SAVING DISPLAY
1 0 Pickford courage and quality fires Everton survival fight
IF EVERTON do manage to escape from the clutches of a tightening relegation scrap, they may come to look back on this match and two outstanding interventions from Jordan Pickford as the turning point.
Richarlison’s goal, in the first minute of the second period, gave Frank Lampard’s struggling side the lead and sparked scenes of delirium at Goodison.
But that his side-footed finish was turned into the winner was down to two outstanding saves from the Everton keeper which could yet be the catalyst for the climb to safety for the Toffees.
The first came with Chelsea pressing for an equaliser and after a stroke of real luck: Mason Mount’s well-hit shot from the edge of the box beating Pickford’s dive, hitting his right-hand post, rolling across the line and bouncing out off the other.
With the ball spilling to Cesar Azpilicueta, Pickford, who had initially dived to his right, scrambled back across the goal and delivered a moment of world-class quality, somehow getting a right hand to paw away the Chelsea captain’s shot.
If that was stunning, Pickford was to pull off a second brilliant stop from the resulting corner as well, the ball flicked on to Antonio Rudiger at the back post and his bullet shot hit Pickford square in his face.
It was a superb double stop – a demonstration of the courage and appetite for the fight – which galvanised the whole ground. Burnley’s dramatic comeback against Watford 24 hours earlier had deepened the sense of crisis around Goodison and it was no surprise every edge had been sought. Flares greeted the Everton coach, there had been old-school tactics of the fireworks at the Chelsea hotel the night before and, once under way, every tackle was greeted like a match winner, every chase like a race-winner.
Victory did not take Everton out of the drop zone but, sitting two points behind Leeds and Burnley on 32 and having played a game less than both is a damned sight more comfortable spot than the one they started the day in. This was blood and thunder in a superb atmosphere, with tackles flying and tempers fraying during a heated contest from the opening whistle.
Both captains were summoned by referee Kevin Friend for a talking-to after a flare-up involving virtually all
the players on 38 minutes. But the match really took off in the first minute of the second period when Azpilicueta dawdled on the ball just on the edge of his box, was caught in possession by Demarai Gray and the ball was stroked home by Richarlison, left.
Vitaliy Mykolenko might have doubled Everton’s lead two minutes later but sliced his shot wide when arriving at the far post.
The Ukrainian’s miss and Chelsea’s building pressure ensured the last half hour was tense beyond belief.
Pickford produced his heroics on the hour mark and was to deny
Ruben Loftus-Cheek, pushing a stinging shot from distance over, and then Mateo Kovacic, low to his right, inside seven stoppage-time minutes.
The final whistle was greeted with a deafening roar of relief and Everton’s players dropping to the turf all around the pitch.
Abdoulaye Doucoure, Fabian Delph, Mason Holgate and Alex Iwobi were all superb and no one in blue dropped below a seven out of 10.
Pickford deserved the champagne but he would do well to share it round when he returned to the dressing room.