Jordan Pickford gushed over as ‘unbelievable’ moment spotted in Everton vs Sunderland
David Moyes’ main positive against was once again Jordan Pickford, despite Everton being knocked out of the FA Cup on Saturday afternoon.
Everton were held to a 1-1 draw by Wolves before welcoming the Black Cats to the Hill Dickinson Stadium on 10 January, with the Toffees losing both Michael Keane and Jack Grealish to suspension.
Moyes was furious after Keane’s appeal was denied, meaning that the manager was forced to include a number of exciting academy products in the matchday squad for the prestigious competition.
It has been a very strange season for the Merseysiders, but one constant in the team is always Pickford, who was making his 22nd appearance of the campaign across all competitions.
Had he not been in between the sticks, Regis Le Bris’ side might have sealed the win a lot earlier.
Jordan Pickford somehow denies Nordi Mukiele’s stunning attempt
In the 41st minute, centre-back Nordi Mukiele attempted an outrageous overhead kick, wanting to double his side’s lead after Enzo Le Fee’s fine opener 11 minutes earlier.
Speaking to BBC Sport (10 January, 1:01pm), Simon Grayson said: “Sunderland are turning the screw from set pieces – they’ve nearly scored from both of them. It’s an unbelievable overhead kick and a reaction save from Pickford to keep Everton in this game.“
He later added, “It’s all Sunderland at the moment. They’ve been on the front foot from the start. That shows why Pickford is England’s number one – he’s made two great saves to keep Everton in this game.”
Mukiele has been one of Sunderland’s players of the season, but after being denied by the Toffees’ shot-stopper, it home fans were given a reminder of just how vital Pickford is on Merseyside.
Everton finally took advantage of Pickford’s incredible stops
All of the goalkeeper’s tremendous work during the 90 minutes finally paid off, as James Garner was able to send the game to extra time from the penalty spot in the 89th minute.
While it was clearly a dive from Adam Aznou, falling down under pressure from Trai Hume, Garner needed no second chances to tuck his effort past Robin Roefs, who was just moments from keeping a clean sheet.
However, despite eventually reaching penalties after neither side edged ahead in extra time, the Toffees finally fell to defeat from 12 yards.
Garner could not recreate his first spot-kick, seeing his opening effort saved by the Sunderland goalkeeper, and he did that two more times in a very frustrating shootout on Merseyside.
Ultimately, Pickford’s efforts were all for nothing, but take nothing away from his performance. It absolutely shows why nobody can knock him off the No.1 England spot.