Jordan Pickford was monumental when it mattered the most.
Today was the day that every Everton romantic was dreaming off. For years, the football realists wrote them off but the dreamers continued to fantasize and at last, the red of Anfield has a smear of blue after 22 years. And at last, the city is painted blue for the first time since 2010.
Carlo Ancelotti named a surprising eleven which even struck Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp by surprise when questioned minutes before kickoff. Allan and Dominic Calvert-Lewin were on the bench and Andre Gomes also came in suggesting a change in the system and the way Everton play but Ancelotti was quick to put those theories to bed by simply stating that he wanted fresh legs for a high intensity game such as this.
Ancelotti did it again. The derby day specialist- Milan, Madrid and now Merseyside. The starting lineup came with a tinge of astonishment but his set up nullified Liverpool on the offence. This win draws Everton to 40 points, level with their arch rivals Liverpool. Here are the Everton player ratings:
Jordan Pickford – 9
Made a powerful punch from an inviting Sadio Mane cross early in the game, a counter attack that began with Abdoulaye Doucoure’s lose touch. The Englishman produced a tremendous save from a Henderson volly that surely was travelling in the net.
Pickford hardly put a foot wrong in the first half, looking confident as ever. Made himself large against a Salah shot in the second half taking his tally to three huge saves. In total made six saves and is surely a man of the match candidate. While the fortress of Anfield has fallen, the fortress that Pickford built was simply unbreachable. He was athletic, elastic and trustworthy.