IT’S A BIT
Everton.2 Southampton.1 Brazilian stars as Saints see five but Sparky says Pickford should
IT was Silva for Everton and yellows for the sinning Saints in a colourful scrap on Merseyside in front of England boss Gareth Southgate.
And Southampton boss Mark Hughes believed that England keeper Jordan Pickford should have seen red for a hefty challenge on Danny Ings which left the on loan striker with a ripped shirt and cuts on his back.
For 45 minutes Everton under new boss Marco Silva had turned on the style racing into a two-goal lead with Hughes’ side forced to adopt a stop-them-at-all-costs policy.
But it was the X-certificate intervention of Pickford in the 76th minute which had the Saints boss raging.
In racing out of his goal to clear from Ings, Hughes insists that the follow-through which left the striker in a heap was committed with unnecessary force.
Hughes said: “His studs were raised leaving Danny with five marks on his back. You saw the state of his shirt.
“I don’t think he needed to follow through like he did. The referee said he didn’t see it.
“It’s not sour grapes. I’m not trying to get the lad into trouble but he should have been sent off.”
Instead it was Southampton who were adjudged to have taken a walk on the wild side.
They collected a total of five bookings although Hughes accused Everton’s players of going down too easily. Everton manager Silva had promised inspirational football to replace what many locals had labelled as sterile stuff under his predecessor Sam Allardyce.
With £50million record buy Richarlison again among the goals following his double on the opening day of the season against newly promoted Wolves, it should have been fun, fun, fun all the way for the home fans.
But in the end they were willing the final whistle to come as Saints proved they can play football as well as dabbling in the dark arts.
Silva said: “We deserved the three points.
“It was important to give our fans some enjoyment. “Everything is different. The players are doing a fantastic job to try and understand everything.”
For Everton’s Morgan Schneiderlin it was a 22-minute cameo which helped remove some of the criticism which had come his way last season.
The Frenchman and former Saint played a key role in Everton’s opening goal, a free-kick routine created on
Pickford 7; Coleman 6, Keane 6, Holgate 6, Baines 7; Schneiderlin 6 (Davies (22nd) 6), Gueye 6, Walcott 8, Sigurdsson 7; the training ground. Leighton Baines shaped up to loop the ball into the crowded box only to sweep it low into Schneiderlin on the edge of the area.
His clever flick allowed Theo Walcott space to stab past Alex McCarthy for a 14th-minute goal against the club that nurtured his wing talents.
The brilliantly executed move produced a wide smile from Silva together complete with a fist pump.
Eight minutes later Schneiderlin’s day was done after suffering an injury, leaving the field to warm applause – in stark contrast to the boos and jeers which at times greeted his entrance as a substitute last season
Walcott, enjoying too much freedom down the right, punished his old club again by sprinting wide and crossing perfectly for Richarlison to bury a header past the exposed McCarthy.
Saints had gone close with an angled header from Charlie Austin.
And Ings was left cursing Pickford’s reflexes when the England keeper spilled a long-range drive from Cedric Soares but somehow managed to divert the close-range follow-up from the Liverpool on-loan striker against the bar.
He did open his goal account in the 54th minute finishing clinically following a flick on from Mario Lemina.
In the end he was left wondering what hurt more – the defeat or Pickford’s studs raking his back.