Richarlison strikes to help Everton begin derby therapy

It was not so much a football match as the first meeting of primal scream therapy for Everton. The throaty roar of relief after Richarlison’s first-half winner began the lengthy process of repairing the psychological wounds after last week’s harrowing events at Anfield.

Deeper scars pre-date Carlo Ancelotti’s arrival, although he is already identifying solutions to Goodison’s malaise. “My idea is we don’t react, we act,” was his summary. “If we are reacting, it means we haven’t acted well.”

The demand for Everton to be on the front foot was evident early in the second half, when Ancelotti threw his arms in the air and turned his back as his centre-backs exchanged passes and fell deeper towards their own goal.

That Everton were actually ahead at that point – Richarlison had just cleverly beaten Mat Ryan with a wellplaced strike into the bottom corner – revealed all about the mindset that has to change under the Italian.

His response to the FA Cup defeat saw Seamus Coleman, Yerry Mina and Morgan Schneiderlin dropped, the recall claims of Fabian Delph ignored and – most surprisingly – the captaincy merits of Gylfi Sigurdsson recognised.

When Delph was introduced late on, there were a few jeers – a consequence of a social-media spat with supporters in the aftermath of the Cup exit.

Richarlison struck on 38 minutes after good work by Bernard and Lucas Digne, showing composure to turn and pick his spot in a crowded penalty area.

Brighton were unlucky when Leandro Trossard hit the bar from the edge of the box on 53 minutes, but generally the visitors lacked penetration and had goalkeeper Ryan to thank for maintaining competitiveness, although Dominic Calvert-Lewin also had a goal correctly chalked off by the video assistant referee.