PANICKY PICKFORD
Reckless challenge on Van Dijk, brilliant saves, then rescued by VAR after blunder . . .
JORDAN HENDERSON stood on the touchline at Goodison Park after the Merseyside derby, shaking his head and talking about a goal and a conversation. He was still ruing the fact that the last-gasp strike he thought had won the match had been ruled out by VAR and now he was talking about the apology Jordan Pickford had just made to him.
Henderson said Pickford had approached him after the final whistle at the end of the 2-2 draw to say sorry about his brutal, scything early tackle that had put Virgil van Dijk out of the game and led to fears that the Liverpool centre half could be out injured for a prolonged period. The England goalkeeper asked Henderson if he would pass on his regret to the Dutchman.
In many ways, the actions of the under-pressure England goalkeeper dominated this Everton-Liverpool battle every bit as much as the composure of Thiago Alcantara, the threat of Sadio Mane and the promptings of James Rodriguez. Pickford was critical to the outcome, partly because he shouldn’t have been on the pitch beyond the first 10 minutes.
Liverpool had started the game in a manner that suggested they were keen to re-establish their authority and reputation after the 7-2 humbling by Aston Villa in their previous match. Van Dijk set the tone, spraying the ball around and imposing himself on Everton’s attack with uncompromising challenges.
But in the minutes after the champions had taken an early lead through Mane, Van Dijk tried to latch on to a lofted ball in the Everton box and Pickford came flying out to meet him.
He launched himself at Van Dijk, feet first, off the ground, out of control and felled him like a giant oak. Van Dijk was given lengthy treatment but could not continue and was replaced by Joe Gomez.
It was an awful challenge — the challenge of a goalkeeper under pressure. It was the challenge of a player who is no longer sure of himself and was trying to cover all his bases. It was the challenge of a man who doesn’t quite trust himself any more and who has become a point of vulnerability for the league leaders.
Pickford is lacking confidence and the challenge had panic written all over it. It wasn’t malicious but it was definitely reckless and it was definitely dangerous. It remains to be seen quite how significant the damage to Van Dijk has been but t he aftermath of t he i ncident changed the game.
Pickford should have been shown a straight red and Everton should have had to play for 80 minutes with 10 men — but when VAR reviewed the challenge, it obfuscated. There was some discussion about the fact Van Dijk had been offside and if that somehow was a mitigating fact or i n discussing t he severity of the challenge. It is one of the ironies of VAR that we are asked to trust the system when it makes judgments that rely on margins we measure in millimetres and yet it cannot be trusted to get it right when a 6ft goalkeeper flies into the picture and takes an opponent out almost at the waist.
No wonder Van Dijk was the very image of dismay as he limped around the pitch on his way to the dressing room in the Goodison car park.
Liverpool never looked quite the same again after he had gone. They never quite regained that early authority. And a Liverpool defence faced with striker Dominic CalvertLewin, who is in such supreme form, and prompter James Rodriguez, who is such a clever player, never looked as comfortable.
If Van Dijk had been on the pitch, for instance, would Michael Keane have been allowed to rise and direct a superb header past Adrian for Everton’s first equaliser?
If Van Dijk had been on the pitch, would Calvert- Lewin have been allowed to rise so majestically, unmarked, to nod home Everton’s second equaliser?
There were the saves, too. If Pickford’s panicky challenge on Van Dijk spoke of a man whose confidence is shaky, whose place is under pressure both for club and country, he produced moments of breathtaking quality that showed us why both Gareth Southgate and Carlo Ancelotti are sticking with him for now.
There was one brilliant save from a Trent Alexander-Arnold free kick in the first half, throwing himself to his right to beat away the curling shot that the Liverpool full back had lifted over the wall.
Then there was the reaction stop from Matip in the second half. As Liverpool pressed for a winner later in the game, Pickford came hurtling out of his goal to block an effort from Mane that would have given the visitors the advantage.
But Pickford i s edgy at t he moment. It feels as if there is always a mistake waiting to happen and that some of that nervousness, at least, is being transmitted to the back four in front of him. If the league leaders are to sustain an attempt to stay in the top four or better, he has to rediscover the dependability that he has lost.
Pickford stayed central to the plot right until the end. As the match entered time added on, he had kept his team in the match with his saves but then his vulnerability resurfaced. When Henderson clipped a l eft foot shot goalwards from ten yards out in the 92nd minute, Pickford should have saved it. It wasn’t easy but a goalkeeper of his quality should have kept it out.
He got his left hand to it but instead of parrying the ball or gathering it, it ballooned up off his left wrist and looped up in a lazy arc that took it just under the crossbar and over the goalline.
For a couple of minutes, it seemed the narrative would be dominated by his fallibility again. The debate about whether he should keep his place for club and country was about to redouble.
Then VAR intervened. Most of football might have been exasperated by the decision to rule Henderson’s goal out for a marginal of offside decision against Mane in the build-up, but not Pickford. He was the most relieved man inside Goodison Park. The debate about whether he should keep his place had been shelved for another day.