RICH PICKINGS

Brazilian lives up to huge fee with winner on home debut

FROM Dixie Dean to Duncan Ferguson, they love their heroes at Everton. It might be a big ask for 21-year-old Richarlison to one day join the pantheon of greats but the Brazilian couldn’t have asked for a better start to life on Merseyside.

Following two goals on his debut at Wolves last weekend, the £44million summer buy from Watford marked his first home game at Goodison by scoring the winner with a header Big Dunc would have been proud of.

More than that, the bond between player and fans is clearly evident. In the opening minutes, two tenacious tackles brought him great applause from three sides of the stadium. When he was replaced by Oumar Niasse after 86 minutes, every supporter wearing a blue replica shirt was on their feet for a standing ovation.

‘I know him well. What he’s done so far is not a surprise,’ said Marco Silva, who previously managed him at Watford and made him a priority signing for his new era at Goodison.

‘I don’t like to always talk about individual players but he is really working hard, he is helping his team-mates and they are helping him. He is at the right club and will fit in really well.’

Richarlison certainly gets the ‘People’s Club’ ethos and went to the Gwladys Street End after the final whistle to give his shirt away to supporters.

This was also Silva’s first game at Goodison and, though the final winning margin was narrow, the fans were enthusiastic to see quick, front-foot football after struggling to get behind Sam Allardyce’s tactics last season. ‘We wanted to put on a show and I think we did that,’ said defender Seamus Coleman.

Theo Walcott opened the scoring after 15 minutes with a free-kick routine that had clearly been worked on at the training ground. Richarlison added his header having pulled up injured and requiring treatment just a few minutes beforehand.

And though Southampton scored their first goal of the season from Danny Ings early in the second half — his first goal for the club after a deadline-day move from Liverpool — it proved a consolation rather than a game-changing effort.

Their manager Mark Hughes was irked that five Saints players picked up yellow cards while Everton escaped scot-free. He was aggrieved in particular that England goalkeeper Jordan Pickford caught Ings with the follow-through from a clearance and left the forward with a ripped shirt.

It seemed fitting the Silva era began with a move from the training ground. Wesley Hoedt fouled Gylfi Sigurdsson around 30 yards from goal and, from the resulting free-kick, Leighton Baines put his arms aloft to indicate a high delivery.

It proved a decoy and the left-back instead slipped a low ball into Morgan Schneiderlin on the edge the box. A firsttime pass from Schneiderlin found Walcott who scored from close range. ‘We did work on it but I can’t tell you on which day,’ said Silva, with a smile.

Saints could have levelled when Charlie Austin fired wide and Ings was denied by a brilliant reflex stop from Pickford.

Everton fans were concerned when Richarlison seemed to over-stretch and needed treatment after crumpling to the floor in distress.They needn’t have worried. Once he had got to his feet, he moved freely again and, after 31 minutes, timed his run to perfection to meet Walcott’s cross.

Ings scored by swivelling to turn in Mario Lemina’s flick-on early in the second half. It matched his entire goal tally for Liverpool last season.

But Everton had enough to hold on and Walcott should have extended their lead but drove wide from eight yards.

Silva added: ‘I know the crowd here is normally fantastic so I wasn’t surprised. We are trying to do some different things to last season, we are playing 50 metres up, and the players are doing a fantastic job to understand everything.’

EVERTON (4-3-3): Pickford 6; Holgate 6, Keane 7, Baines 7, Gueye 7; Schneiderlin 6.5 (Davies 24min, 6), Sigurdsson 6.5, Walcott 7, Tosun 6.5; Tosun (Calvert-Lewin 75), Richarlison 7.5 (Niasse 86). Subs (not used): Stekelenberg, Kenny, Zouma, Calvert-Lewin, Niasse, Lookman.

SOUTHAMPTON (4-4-2): McCarthy 6.5; Cedric 7, Stephens 6.5, Hoedt 6, Bertrand 7; Ward-Prowse 6.5 (Armstrong 84), Romeu 6 (Gabbiadini 72, 6), Lemina 6.5, Redmond 7; Ings 6.5, Austin 6 (Long 58, 6.5). Subs (not used): Gunn, Yoshida, Holjberg, Targett. Booked: Hoedt, Lemina, Romeu, Cedric, Stephens. referee: L Mason 6.

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Richarlison has scored three in his first two PL games for Everton, more than in his last 31 PL games for Watford