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Publication date: Saturday, October 3, 2020 5:26 AM
Dominic Calvert-Lewin, in form, celebrated his first call-up for England by scoring in a fourth consecutive Premier League game in which Everton returned to the top of the table for at least 24 hours with a 4-2 win over Brighton.
The 23-year-old’s ninth of the season makes him the top scorer in Europe’s top five leagues and his header in the first half led to 41 goals for the club, one better than Gary Lineker’s, although the England’s top scorer achieved his in 57 appearances to 140.
But there was less joy for another member of Gareth Southgate’s team for the friendly with Wales and the Nations League matches against Belgium and Denmark, as Jordan Pickford had another afternoon to forget.
England’s number one was to blame for Neal Maupay’s draw, unable to contain Leandro Trossard’s volley hammered into the grass, his third mistake in as many games after committing two in the Carabao Cup win at Fleetwood .
Pickford has made nine scoring mistakes since the start of the 2018-19 season, more than any other player.
He welcomed the club’s connection to Colombia, as a James Rodríguez free kick gave Yerry Mina his first goal at Goodison Park just six minutes later, with Rodríguez scoring twice after halftime.
Everton are closer to concluding a £ 25 million deal for Norwich center-back Ben Godfrey but, after another high-profile mistake by Pickford, coach Carlo Ancelotti may begin to reevaluate last week’s vote of confidence in the goalkeeper after insisting that he wasn’t even considering beefing up his options in that department.
Fortunately for Ancelotti, he has no such worries at the other end of the field where Calvert-Lewin, after missing a relatively straightforward opportunity that a man in his form should have taken advantage of after 82 seconds, continues to excel.
The forward has scored in five of his six games this season, including two hat-tricks, and became the first Everton player to score in the first four games of a Premier League season and the first English player to do so four. out of four at any time since he graduated from Francis Jeffers Academy in September 2000.
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Calvert-Lewin scores goals. Pass it on.#EVEBHA pic.twitter.com/lSbHDSKjjM
– Everton (@Everton) October 3, 2020
His header off the far post, from which he scored via a cross-center from Gylfi Sigurdsson in the 16th minute to give the hosts a well-deserved advantage, is quickly becoming a trademark.
It would be impolite to say the same could be said of Pickford’s fouls and misjudgments, but no one else was to blame for an outright draw against the game’s development.
Rather than opting to simply tilt the high-rebound ball over the crossbar, he tried to catch it, like his now-famous clanger in the Merseyside derby at Anfield in December 2018, leading to the last-minute winner of Divock Origi.
But on a rainy day the ball slipped out of his hands, introducing Maupay with a simple touch.
Mina got rid of the embarrassment by heading up Rodriguez’s inside free kick for this third goal of 2020, all of which were scored in the first half overtime.
Much of Brighton The game plan seemed to involve going tough on both the Everton playmaker and Richarlison, who passed a late physical fitness test for an ankle injury.
The tactic was partly successful with the Brazilian forward forced out 25 minutes into the first half after a crisp but fair tackle from Tariq Lamptey.
But there was no way to stop Rodriguez, who fouled on the free kick that led to Mina’s goal, and made play safe with two shots off the far post from centers from replacement Richarlison, Alex Iwobi and Abdoulaye Doucoure.
Despite a 100% record and 12 goals in four league games, the international break could not come at a better time for Ancelotti as Seamus Coleman limped up to bring the number of first injured players to nine.
A hiatus may also benefit the Seagulls, for whom Yves Bissouma flew home consolation in overtime, after a third defeat in a week and a ninth straight on the road in the Premier League.
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