Micah Richards blown away by Jordan Pickford after ‘outstanding’ Everton moment v Liverpool
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford blew Micah Richards away with his “outstanding” performance in the Toffees’ win over Liverpool.
Sean Dyche’s side took another huge step away from the relegation zone with an excellent Merseyside derby win over Jurgen Klopp’s Reds on Wednesday (24 April) thanks to goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
While most pundits were quick to heap praise on the Toffees’ good work in possession, Richards was quick to credit Pickford for his “great” work between the posts to deny Darwin Nunez in the first half.
Speaking on Match of the Day (24 April, 14:10) he said: “Normally in these games they put away these big opportunities, but today it just felt like they could have been playing for 180 minutes without scoring.
“Obviously, we’ve got to give credit to Everton because Pickford was outstanding and so was the defence. It’s these bits we’re talking about with Nunez, can he go near post can he go far post? But he doesn’t and it’s a great save from Pickford.”
Everton take step away from relegation with “outstanding” Merseyside derby win over Liverpool
The Toffees had moved incredibly close to Premier League safety with their slightly controversial win over Nottingham Forest, but Wednesday night’s performance against Klopp’s side was even more important.
While the away side had plenty of chances to put the game to bed, Dyche’s side worked incredibly hard out of possession to deny the Reds. When they did get through on goal, Pickford looked unbeatable between the posts.
The England number one seems able to produce big performances whenever his team needs it most. While he has been criticised at times this season, he showed at Goodison that he could be the difference between safety and relegation.
Keeping him fit and available could be key over the coming weeks. Hopefully, he’ll still be at Goodison Park come the start of next season, but Dyche will be much more confident of that if Everton are still in the Premier League.
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