Golden boy Richarlison glitters as Nuno aches

HOW appropriate that the man Neymar dubbed ‘Golden Boy’ should choose opponents wearing Old Gold to kickstart his season. It was last September when the world’s most expensive footballer took a felt pen and wrote those words on Richarlison’s shirt after the Everton forward had made a dazzling first appearance for Brazil. Neymar recognised his talent and wanted to see him flourish. So do Everton. His first year on Merseyside was good, full of life and goals, but this campaign had been inauspicious. Until now. Richarlison scored two on his Everton debut against Wolves last year, so they cannot say they hadn’t been warned. On a pulsating afternoon, he thrillingly repeated the feat. ‘We are talking about a fantastic football player and a fantastic boy,’ said Everton boss Marco Silva. ‘He is the spirit inside our dressing room. He only had 13 days to train with us before the first game of the season. Miracles we cannot do. This will help his confidence. He will keep improving, for sure.’ Richarlison’s double, coupled with a fine header from Alex Iwobi, gave Everton a richly deserved three points. Many will look at this result and pin Wolves’ defeat on the fact they have been involved in the Europa League, but the reality for Nuno Espirito Santo is that his side were found wanting in the crucial moments and struggled to cope with Everton’s vibrancy. Wolves contributed to this entertaining spectacle and will feel they should have left with a point. However, one tell-tale moment, straight after Richarlison had plundered the third goal with a towering back-post header, told you everything you need to know about their demise. ‘We should not be happy with the mistakes we made,’ said Nuno. ‘We played against a very good team. When you score two times, we should do better defensively.’ Wolves fell behind due to a ridiculous mix-up in which captain Conor Coady fired a back-pass at Rui Patricio that the goalkeeper smashed straight at Moise Kean. The Italian teed up Richarlison, who did the rest. Wolves recovered quickly and were level in the ninth minute thanks to a turbo-charged run from Adama Traore that beat Lucas Digne all ends up. Seamus Coleman, Everton’s captain, trod on Traore’s cross and steered it into the path of Romain Saiss, whose finish was emphatic. It was a chaotic start but the frenzy continued. Everton, who were so much more vibrant for Silva’s changes to the starting line-up, raced back downfield with Richarlison helping the ball on to Gylfi Sigurdsson, whose fierce cross was met powerfully at the back post by Iwobi. It took until the 75th minute for the next goal to come, with Raul Jimenez arriving at the back post to head in a Willy Boly flick-on from Ryan Bennett’s long throw-in. In a desperate attempt to stop Jimenez, Digne accidentally kicked the Mexican in the face. It was not one of the Frenchman’s best days in terms of defending but he is a superb footballer and would have one final involvement. It came in the 80th minute when he scuttled down the left and swung in a cross to the back post where Richarlison rose powerfully to convert. It was no more than Everton deserved.