Richarlison boosts Everton’s survival hopes with winner against Chelsea
It was all too much for the Everton legend Colin Harvey, who could bear no more Chelsea pressure and made for the exit with a few minutes to go. But Frank Lampard’s team could take it and Everton’s refusal to go quietly ensured they remain in charge of their precious, precarious Premier League destiny.
Richarlison struck the only goal that condemned Chelsea to a fourth successive Premier League defeat at Goodison Park and left Thomas Tuchel openly worrying about his team’s Champions League qualification prospects.
In the wild celebrations that followed, the Brazil international picked up a flare that had been thrown on to the pitch and launched it, Everton say, out of the ground. A Football Association investigation will follow. Richarlison will consider it a small price to pay if his contribution ultimately hauls in Burnley or Leeds.
Everton were besieged for much of the second half but Jordan Pickford was immense, so too Yerry Mina, as they repelled everything Chelsea threw at them with a spirit of defiance that flowed through the entire club.
Evertonians did whatever they could to lift their team before a must-win fixture. Chelsea players were disturbed in the early hours of Sunday morning by a long and loud fireworks display outside their hotel in Liverpool city centre. When the Everton team bus turned on to Goodison Road 90 minutes before kick-off it was met by thousands of fans who had congregated with banners and flares to welcome Lampard’s players. The Holy Trinity statue of Harvey, Alan Ball and Howard Kendall vanished behind blue sulphur.
“If that doesn’t give you goosebumps you shouldn’t be playing the game,” the Everton manager said. The question was how those with the greatest influence on the club’s Premier League status would respond. As they had to was the answer.
Goodison Park was a brilliant bearpit, imploring its team on while responding to any Chelsea touch or adverse decision with a chorus of boos. There were plenty of the former. Lampard set up his team to match Tuchel’s 3-4-3 formation but in the knowledge that the visitors, like Liverpool at Anfield last Sunday, would dominate possession.
Chelsea completed 715 passes to Everton’s 195. Jorginho and Ruben Loftus-Cheek regularly passed through midfield and yet, for all the space and promising positions that Mason Mount found, Pickford was rarely troubled in the first half. Mount curled over from 20 yards and Timo Werner was denied by a fine recovery challenge from Séamus Coleman after LoftusCheek had broken through Everton’s lines but the Chelsea threat was limited. Kai Havertz spent most of the opening 45 minutes engaged in an off-theball spat with Mina. Distractions served Everton’s purpose as Chelsea began to lose composure.
Anthony Gordon fed off the crowd to tear at the visitors from the first whistle. Brought down in a dangerous area by Loftus-Cheek, the 21-year-old took the resulting free-kick himself but, after blazing over, Everton did not seriously threaten again until the breakthrough.
The intent was there from Gordon, Richarlison and Demarai Gray but not the support of defensive-minded teammates to unsettle Thiago Silva or Antonio Rüdiger. Something had to give for Everton to claim the goal they desperately needed. It arrived in the form of a gift from César Azpilicueta rather than a change of approach from Lampard.
Everton’s crucial moment stemmed from a throw-in by Alex Iwobi a minute after the restart. Richarlison won it under pressure from Rüdiger only for Chelsea to recover possession through Silva. The veteran squared to his captain who, seemingly unaware of Richarlison’s tireless running, took too long over a clearance and was charged down by the Brazilian. Suddenly Everton were two-on-one on the edge of Chelsea’s
penalty area. Gray touched the rebound back to Richarlison and, just onside, he slipped a measured shot beyond Édouard Mendy into the far corner.
Goodison was in uproar and should have been celebrating the luxury of a second goal minutes later. The opportunity again came from an Iwobi throw on the right. Gordon spun away from his marker and found Abdoulaye Doucouré breaking into the area. The midfielder released Vitaliy Mykolenko on the left and the first goal of the Ukraine international’s Everton career beckoned. He opted for power over placement and fired badly wide.
A Chelsea response was inevitable and Pickford performed heroics to keep them at bay when it came. There was a slice of luck, too. The England goalkeeper was beaten by his international colleague Mount when the No 10 struck the inside of one post and then the other with a half-volley from Havertz’s knock-down.
The rebound fell invitingly for Azpilicueta but Pickford, having leapt up and sprinted across the goalmouth, saved the defender’s shot brilliantlyon the line. Mina hacked clear and, from the resulting corner, the ball dropped to Rüdiger at the back post. Pickford saved bravely at point-blank range, injuring himself in the process. He tipped over from Loftus-Cheek’s 25-yard drive and denied the substitute Mateo Kovacic during seven minutes of stoppage time that turned Goodison apoplectic when it was announced.
Gray could have soothed Everton nerves when breaking into the area with five minutes left following good work by Doucouré and the substitute Salomón Rondón only to shoot over. But Everton held out and fight on.