Everton player ratings v Chelsea – Jordan Pickford sublime as Fabian Delph struggles
Richarlison’s goal just after half-time earned Everton a massive three points against Chelsea in their bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League.
Frank Lampard won 1-0 against his former club at Goodison Park on Sunday courtesy of a defensive mix-up by the Londoners in the 46th minute, which led to Richarlison’s ninth goal of the campaign.
Everton are now just two points from safety and have a game in hand on 17th-placed Leeds, who now look to be in huge trouble.
Here, Goodison News has rated the players out of 10 for their performances against Chelsea:
Jordan Pickford – 9 (Man of the match)
It was a performance that Neville Southall would have been proud of by the England number one. Pickford pulled off one of the saves of the season in the second half before taking one for the team by putting his face in the way of a powerful, close-range shot by Antonio Rudiger. Phenomenal.
Vitaly Mykolenko – 6
It was a solid display by the ever-improving Mykolenko in the left wing-back role. He squandered a massive chance to score at one point but other than that, it was a steady shift.
Mason Holgate – 7
Where has this Holgate been for most of the season? He rarely looked troubled by the Chelsea attackers. If he’d have played like this all season, Everton would be higher up the tabe.
Yerry Mina – 8
Mina is the man who makes this defensive unit click. It’s been such a blow to have seen him miss so much of the season. Unfortunately, it did look as though Mina took a knock in the second half. Let’s hope he’s ok and won’t miss any upcoming matches.
Seamus Coleman – 7
That was a leader’s performance by Coleman. Whether it was breaking down Chelsea’s attacks or standing up to Cesar Azipilicueta’s nonsense, it was a performance that made us proud to have Coleman at this club.
Alex Iwobi – 7
Iwobi’s form has been terrific lately even though he’s been used in positions that he would not have usually been in.
Fabian Delph – 4
If there was one player who struggled to cope with the game on Sunday, it was Delph. The former Manchester City midfielder has done well since returning from injury but he just didn’t look as though he had the legs against Chelsea. He could have been booked more than once and was rightly taken off by Lampard.
Abdoulaye Doucoure – 8
We all know what Doucoure is capable of doing but he’s rarely shown it this season due to his teammates’ poor form and his own injury issues. But he was all over the pitch on Sunday – in a very positive way. Doucoure’s box-to-box capabilities were on full show as he contributed both defensively and in the attack. A superb shift.
Demarai Gray – 7
After Azpilicueta’s mistake, Gray did brilliantly to prod the ball towards Richarlison for him to score. It was superb instinctive play by the ex-Leicester forward. He worked so hard throughout. Rafa Benitez’s finest moment at Goodison was signing this guy for as cheaply as he did.
Anthony Gordon – 7
Not only is this young man super talented, but he’s also a super hard worker. Gordon didn’t let Chelsea players have a moment rest at Goodison Park. He was a greased-up eel on the ball too, causing all sorts of issues for the away side’s defence.
Richarlison – 8
It was a gift of a goal after Azpilicueta’s defensive lapse but Richarlison still had to stick it in the back of the net – and he did. There was a lot of pressure on the Brazilian against Chelsea but he coped with it tremendously.
Substitutes:
Allan (on for Delph, ’71) – 5
Salomon Rondon (on for Richarlison, ’80) – 6
Dele Alli (on for Gray, ’90+4) – N/A
In other Everton news, Stan Collymore has taken a big swipe at this 25-year-old who he suggests is taking the Blues down to the Championship.
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