Everton’s resolute defending was finally bested by a typical Liverpool counter-attack, but Jordan Pickford’s suspect goalkeeping left fans scratching their heads
Jordan Pickford’s horrendous Merseyside derby error against Liverpool has left fans in disbelief.
Everton did a good job of shutting out their rivals during the first half of the Monday night clash at Anfield. That was until the Reds broke away with a blitzing counter-attack after Everton hit the post from their own set-piece.
Darwin Nunez did his best bullet train impression as he rampaged down the left flank. And there were plenty of bodies arriving in the box for the Uruguayan to aim at, with his ball finding Mohamed Salah, who tucked it away clinically just before half-time.
But replays immediately made it apparent that Everton goalkeeper Pickford was in fact in no man’s land, giving Salah an open goal to aim at.
The Englishman appeared to be caught in two minds, rushing out to close the angle for Trent Alexander Arnold but seemingly not realising Salah was closest to the ball.
And fans were fuming as they took to social media to slam the shot-stopper, as one Twitter user wrote: “What was Pickford doing !! Made it easy option for Salah !!!”
“Pickford why are you THEREEEEEE,” another tweeted.
A third commented: “Pickford going for a walk in Stanley Park there?” And a fourth added: “Pickford moving like a FIFA goalkeeper what is this.”
Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville also criticized the England No.1 goalkeeper, saying: “It’s not interesting, it’s just bad. I’ve no idea what he’s doing.
“It’s almost as if he thinks the ball’s not going to end up at Salah’s feet so he goes to the back post and makes a real mess of it. It’s an open goal, makes it very easy for Mo Salah.”
It came after a convincing performance from Pickford and Everton’s defence in the 1-0 win over Arsenal last Saturday. Sean Dyche’s first game in charge ended with three points over the league leaders.
