Keane’s towering header lifts Everton
WIN TAKES CARLO’S MEN UP TO FOURTH
MICHAEL Keane’s late header took Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton side into fourth place and within a point of rivals Liverpool.
And with the Reds facing new leaders Manchester United this weekend, Everton could make further strides if their game at Covid-hit Aston Villa goes ahead.
The Premier League will decide on that fixture today but for now, Everton can reflect on a job well done. Without top scorer Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has a hamstring injury, and with Richarlison fit enough only for a place on the bench, this win showed Everton’s resilience and adaptability. The match had been level since the 14th minute, when Ruben Neves cancelled out Alex Iwobi’s sixth-minute opener.
English football bosses may also take a dim view of the shirt-swapping that took place at half-time and full time. On the day Premier League’s chief executive Richard Masters wrote to clubs to impose a ban on exchanging jerseys as part of tough new coronavirus guidelines, three Wolves players and two from Everton carried on regardless, while all goals were celebrated with hugs.
James Rodriguez seemed to swap with Fabio Silva at half-time and also pick up Joao Moutinho’s shirt, while after the final whistle Wolves full back Rayan Ait-Nouri swapped with Niels Nkounkou, an unused substitute for Everton. If those incidents are reported, the players and their clubs may have some tricky questions to answer.
On the victory, Everton’s sixth away from home this season, Ancelotti said: ‘If you win here you have to have a good performance. The game was in the balance, we won thanks to Michael Keane, who scored a fantastic goal.
‘The players adapted really well. The position of James Rodriguez and Gylfi Sigurdsson in front was really good. We adapted well to the characteristics of our players.
‘We perform better away because at home we don’t have the support of our fans at the moment, which is really important, but we are in a good position.’
While Everton march up the table, Wolves have won only one of their last eight in the league and continue to suffer without Raul Jimenez, who has not played since sustaining a serious head injury in November. Fellow forwards Daniel Podence and Adama Traore are also out injured.
Ancelotti has injuries up front too, so he paired James with Sigurdsson to provide the edge in a fluid 4-4-2 formation.
It paid off as Everton took the lead in the sixth minute. James played a superb pass to the left where Lucas Digne switched it first time to Alex Iwobi. The former Arsenal man had time and space to plant a shot beyond Rui Patricio from 20 yards.
Wolves levelled when Yerry Mina failed to clear Pedro Neto’s corner, allowing 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.
Early in the second half, Wolves danger man Pedro 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 ball 30 yards out and sending a dipping volley a fraction over the bar. Keane’s intervention moments later proved far more telling as he climbed brilliantly at the far post to give Patricio no chance.
It was more poor defending from Wolves and coach Nuno Espirito Santo admitted: ‘ We have to improve defensively very fast. In the second half we should have done better. We need all our players healthy so we can improve. We are worried about our form.’
Neves was inches away from claiming his second with a free-kick that hit the angle of post and bar with Pickford beaten.
WOLVERHAMPTON WANDERERS (4-3-3): Patricio 6; Semedo 6, Coady 6.5, Saiss 6.5, Ait-Nouri 6.5; Dendoncker 6, Neves 7, Moutinho 6 (Vitinha 86min); Neto 7, Gibbs-White 6.5 (Hoever 64, 6), Silva 5.5 (Cutrone 79). Subs not used: Ruddy, Kilman, Shabani, Richards, 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.