Everton succumbed to a disappointing derby day defeat last night as Liverpool cruised to victory at Anfield.
Sean Dyche struggled to inspire the same workmanlike attitude from the Arsenal game, as the midfield looked sluggish in comparison to their all-action display from earlier in the month.
Meanwhile, it marks an important victory for Jurgen Klopp, who will look to use this game as a springboard to kickstart his team’s season.
Games like last night’s will not be integral in the Toffees’ bid for Premier League survival, but the way in which they whimpered to defeat will frustrate both fans and the former Burnley boss alike.
With plenty to pick out for scorn, it is hard to look past the man who was blatantly at fault for the all-important opener which relinquished the gameplan and got the Anfield crowd behind their team.
How did Pickford play against Liverpool?
Jordan Pickford has been prone to some erratic moments since moving to Goodison Park, with his infamous 2018 blunder to palm the ball from the crossbar onto Divock Origi’s head arguably the most painful.
However, he offered another to add to this miserable highlight reel with his rash decision to rush out of goal whilst the Reds countered from an Everton corner.
Darwin Nunez raced down the left flank and his left-footed ball seemed destined for Cody Gakpo – or so the England shot-stopper thought. In attempting to anticipate the flight of the ball, he left his goal wide open, allowing Mohamed Salah to steal in and poke into an empty net.
Journalist Rob Greenwood even took to Twitter to brand the move “comical from Pickford”.
It was a big error which led to a goal, and it contributed to his abysmal 6.2 Sofascore rating, with only Conor Coady scoring worse among the Everton starters last night.
Combined with Pickford’s poor distribution, this compounded what was a torrid 90 minutes for the 28-year-old. He completed just 57% of his passes, despite boasting 48 touches, and played a large role in the Toffees’ inability to retain possession.
His four saves do little to ease his woes, such is the life of a goalkeeper, as his catastrophic blunder will remain the standout talking point from last night’s clash.
Without threatening the home side, Dyche’s men had been battling towards a solid result until that mistake. It soured what had been a strong opening 36 minutes from the visitors and prevented the 56-year-old from recording his perfect result in his Merseyside derby debut.
