Everton Chelsea Goodison Park
Everton faced Chelsea at Goodison Park
Connor Burgess
Mon 23 December 2024 7:40, UK
John Cross lauded the BBC for Match of the Day 2’s coverage of the clash between Everton and Chelsea on Sunday.
The Blues welcomed high-flying Chelsea to Goodison Park on 22 December and earned a hard-fought 0-0 draw against the second-placed visitors.
However, Jordan Pickford was lucky to avoid giving away a spot-kick after he charged down Malo Gusto in the 34th minute and Cross, a reporter for The Mirror took to X [22 December] to praise Match of the Day 2 for not shying away from the “bonkers” decision.
He said: “How is that not a penalty for Chelsea? Pickford’s challenge is absolutely wild. Was VAR on a break? Bonkers. Match of the Day 2 spot on for highlighting.”
Jordan Pickford fortunate to not cost Everton v Chelsea
The 30-year-old was the star of the show last weekend at Emirates Stadium and, despite keeping consecutive clean sheets against two of the top three, Pickford nearly cost his teammates at Goodison Park.
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Indeed, he made the right decision to close the distance between Gusto and the Everton goal, but in this day and age, the follow-through after the challenge is equally as important as winning the ball and the goalkeeper completely wiped out his opposition number.
Sean Dyche will look back at this 50/50 decision as the moment that secured the point for his side – had Pickford given away a spot-kick and potentially received his marching orders, Chelsea would have undoubtedly run riot on Merseyside.
However, this is all hypothetical, of course, and Dyche continued his “exceptional job” at Goodison Park by avoiding defeat against two sides they were widely expected to fall against.
The Everton faithful may well feel their men could have snatched the three points on the day after Jack Harrison decided to go for goal with a woeful effort when Abdoulaye Doucoure was waiting for the tap-in.
But each point earned is vital at Goodison Park as the Toffees aim to push towards mid-table security heading into the second half of the campaign.
In other Everton news, TFG will bring ‘considerable investment’ to the Blues after £850m financial news.
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