NEVER SAY DIE
Gordon vows beleaguered Toffees will give their all and stick together to beat drop
BY
ANTHONY GORDON insists Everton will “give their all” to avoid tumbling down into the Championship.
The Toffees are in danger of their first relegation in 70 years after defeat in the Merseyside derby.
Frank Lampard’s side are now two points behind Burnley and safety, albeit with a game in hand.
But they could be five points adrift of the Clarets if they beat Watford on Saturday before the Toffees take on Chelsea on Sunday.
Everton then face a run against Leicester, Watford, Brentford and Crystal Palace, before their final game away at Arsenal.
Gordon said: “We have to give our all and fight. We are very aware of where we are. There’s only one thing
to do and that is keep going and stick together.” The forward was involved in the penalty incident against the Reds which prompted Everton to contact the PGMOL yesterday to ask for an explanation.
The Toffees have been left puzzled as to why VAR Darren England did not take a longer look at the incident when Gordon was bundled over by Joel Matip in the area.
Gordon raced into the box at
0-0 with Matip in pursuit and the Everton midfielder ended up on the deck. Referee
Stuart Attwell waved away player protests
while manager Lampard hit out at the decision following the game.
Lampard also suggested the penalty would have been given if it was Mo Salah at the other end.
The FA yesterday contacted Lampard over that comment and he could face a fine. But the Toffees’ anger seems to be aimed more at the VAR than the on-field referee.
They want an explanation as to why it wasn’t looked at more closely on the replays and feel as though it was dismissed too soon by those in Stockley Park.
Liverpool won the game 2-0, thanks to goals from Andy Robertson and Divock Origi. But if the Toffees – who spent most of the game trying to frustrate the Reds – had gone in front, it may have been a different outcome.
Gordon (battling Trent Alexanderarnold, left) had been earlier booked for diving, when he went down under no contact from Naby Keita.
The 21-year-old said: “The second one was the strongest claim because Matip stood on my foot (above) after I’ve got the better of him. It caused me severe pain and I’ve gone down.
“For the first one, I felt contact. I can see why he hasn’t given it after looking at a few angles, but it’s certainly not a yellow card because it’s not a dive. I felt contact.
“When you come here against a team at the top of the league, you need stuff like that to go for you.”