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“The [Carlo Ancelotti] He already told me that I will win the Ballon d’Or, that I will win several championships. I will trust the word of man. “
More of a motivational technique than a genuine belief that Richarlison is perhaps a Ballon d’Or contender, but Carlo Ancelotti has accomplished enough of them to instill a genuine belief in Everton’s biggest player. It was a brilliant performance from the attackers overall at Craven Cottage on Sunday, but the Brazilian proved again in the 3-2 win over Fulham why its absence has always been so costly.
He was by no means Everton’s standout player. Lucas Digne delivered two excellent assists, James Rodriguez’s impressive range and passing variety returned, Alex Iwobi seems to have found a home as a right-back, and the fact that Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s two tap-ins are now regular shows. How eagerly you must be watching those Filippo Inzaghi videos.
Fulham’s forwards too – Ademola Lookman, Ivan Cavaleiro and Ruben Loftus-Cheek when they introduced him – were dynamic and dangerous in a thoroughly entertaining game where defense was very secondary.
But Richarlison, whose role in the win will be a mere footnote in most reports, set the tone (very) early and dragged Everton quickly to a level that has been nowhere near in his absence.
He passed two Fulham defenders to set up Calvert-Lewin after 40 seconds, but it was his defensive work from the front that made the real difference in those early moments – pressuring the defenders to make mistakes they duly made, making tackles. ; it is generally a nuisance. When he’s not playing, that forward-thinking defense starts and ends with Calvert-Lewin, particularly James hanging around, waiting for them to get the ball back.
Richarlison wins the ball, dribbles through defenders and shoots far, as he did on a particularly impressive play from the first half, all on his own. It was an example of the combination of desire, skill and frankness that illustrates its status as a Premier League spin on stereotypical samba.
Having played the majority of the two games for Brazil in the international break, he became noticeably tired in the second half, which coincided with a resurgence of Fulham just before and after his replacement. To suggest that he was the key factor in that descent change would be untrue for Scott Parker and his team, who combined their typically pretty passing moves with genuine threat.
Loftus-Cheek swept home downtown Lookman, whose performance will have gone a long way in purging the penalty shootout demons that will now unfortunately haunt Cavaleiro. After Ben Godfrey fouled Loftus-Cheek in the box, moments before his goal, the Portuguese striker stepped forward, slipped and shot the ball at himself and over the crossbar.
Fulham’s attack was worth one point: their defense was not. Doucoure’s free header from six yards will be a particular complaint for Parker, who gritted his teeth in unbridled anger in a 30-minute period in the first half that may have seen Everton out of sight. Parker has previously spoken of the need for full focus and while he will be happy with the threat they showed late in the game, the drastic ebbs and flows will remain a real cause for concern.
Ancelotti will also be wary of his team’s inability to put a game to bed that they could have then easily ruled out. But he has world-class footballers and an attack line that clicked again, with his talisman in tow. Everton lost all three games Richarlison missed due to his recent suspension and has not won any of the eight he has not played since arriving in 2018. That is far from a coincidence.
Will ford is on twitter
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