Clinton Morrison slams ‘stupid’ player for what he did in Everton win vs Crystal Palace in FA Cup
Clinton Morrison slammed “stupid” Crystal Palace midfielder Jefferson Lerma for giving away the free-kick that Everton ace Andre Gomes scored from.
Gomes curled the ball over the wall and in off the right-hand post to open the scoring for the Toffees in Wednesday’s (17 January) FA Cup third-round replay.
Lerma had given the set-piece away for a needless challenge around 25 yards from goal, which he also earned himself a booking for.
Reacting to the goal on Sky Sports News [17 January, 8:30pm], Morrison said: “I don’t know what Palace are doing at the back. Lerma makes a stupid tackle to give a free-kick.
“Gomes, a forgotten man at Everton, whips a brilliant free-kick over the wall and into the corner. Fantastic from Gomes. It’s a brilliant free-kick.”
Two in five
Gomes’ goal was a rare moment of quality across a forgettable cup tie with fellow Premier League side Palace.
The midfielder is showing that he does still have a part to play for the Toffees despite being, as Morrison put it, “a forgotten man”.
Everton must be grateful that Lerma felt the need to make a challenge near his own penalty area.
That said, even when the referee blew his whistle, not many inside Goodison Park would have predicted the ball would end up in the back of the net a few moments later.
Gomes now has two goals in five appearances since returning from injury – the other strike coming in the 2-1 loss to Tottenham in his first game back.
The hope now is that the former Portugal international can keep himself fit and potentially nail down a more regular spot in the side.
This sublime strike against Palace will certainly do his chances of that coming true no harm.
In other Everton news, a BBC journalist has predicted “chaos” for the Toffees on a certain date.