The goalkeeper should have been sent off early on in the Merseyside derby against Liverpool, went on to make some outstanding saves before getting away with a late blunder
Perhaps the most remarkable aspect of Everton’s start to the season is not that they are top of the league, but that they are top of the league with Jordan Pickford in the sort of mood he’s been in for the past 18 months. He is a wrecking ball of pure energy, always up for it, a player apparently determined never to regret what he didn’t do. His performance against Liverpool was a characteristic maelstrom of reflex brilliance and damaging misjudgment: he nearly cost his team the game, yet he also made two outstanding saves. He may also have cost Liverpool the title.
How bad Virgil van Dijk’s knee injury is remains to be seen, but the point is that it could have been extremely serious – and given his importance to the champions, any game he misses is significant. The Pickford challenge that caused it was typical, of a piece with the pathological proactivity that led to Denmark’s penalty against England on Wednesday. There was no need for him to come flying off his line, and certainly no need for him to fling himself at Van Dijk, scissoring the Dutchman’s right leg so it bent back horribly.
Related: Liverpool denied by Everton and VAR in wild Merseyside derby draw
Related: Everton 2-2 Liverpool: Premier League – as it happened
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