Jordan Pickford gives ‘frustrating’ verdict on controversial Everton v Man City moment
Going into yesterday’s game, there was a general feeling that it would be a miracle were Everton to come away with any kind of result.
After all, the Toffees had won just once from their last 11 in all competitions, meanwhile the hosts had won their last nine on the spin.
Having now made that ten, the manner of the victory was far more dogged than was initially expected.
Especially given Sean Dyche’s men limited the Cityzens until their eventual goal, a thunderous right-footed effort which marked their first shot on target of the game.
However, there has been an element of frustration emerge following that opener, which left James Tarkowski lambasting the officials post-match.
As a side that feels like injustice has been around every corner this campaign, this latest decision is unlikely to ease that suggestion.
After all, Everton are the only team left in the Premier League this season yet to be awarded a single penalty, with that statistic only compounded by the off-pitch deduction battles between the division and the club.
Well, Pickford has not held back in his assessment either, and speaking for Everton’s official site in a post-match interview, the 29-year-old shot-stopper spoke about the dubious corner given that led to the opener: ‘It’s always frustrating. I think the linesman, I don’t know who called it linesman or referee but, they’ve got to help each other better there and on another day he doesn’t score that, what may happen?
‘We know City would keep fighting until the end, they’ll keep probing if it was 0-0, and we’ll keep defending well. But it wasn’t to be today and we’ve just got to regroup, refocus, learn from the negatives and keep the positives going.’
Despite yesterday likely being a frustrating one for the former Sunderland man, given he conceded from two of the three shots on targets he faced, it did mark yet another impressive showing from his backline.
And, few can complain about the general performances of their goalkeeper, with Pickford largely recognised as one of, if not the most important player at Everton.
His recent showings amidst the last two relegation battles reinforce that suggestion, and this season he is finally boasting the statistics to go alongside the plaudits.
No goalkeeper in the division has more clean sheets than him (8), and on top of that he is averaging 2.9 saves per game, a statistic buoying his 7.15 average rating in the league, via sofascore.
