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Richarlison’s disappointing return
The Brazilian striker had done a fair amount of talking off the pitch about Tottenham showing more ambition than Everton — and now was the time to prove he had made the correct decision to move to north London after his £60m move this summer, with no goals in eight Premier League appearances.
The tone was set when Vitaliy Mykolenko dug his studs into the back of Richarlison’s boot, causing the Brazilian to clutch his foot in pain. Of course, he would have been expecting such a welcome from his old team-mates and would have been just as motivated to put his former team to the sword, making runs in behind but not quite receiving the service he would have wanted.
His involvement was limited in the first half as Everton were aggressive in the tackle and he lasted just six minutes into the second half before being taken off with a suspected calf injury. And with Dejan Kulusevski soon to return from injury, he may have missed his chance to make the final spot in the front three his own.
Lampard tightens up Toffees
Chelsea had one of their worst defensive records in the Premier League era when Lampard was their manager in the 2019-20 season. And even when he arrived at Goodison Park, Everton could not stop leaking goals, with 13 out of 19 defeats in away games last season.
But with some work on the training ground and some shrewd recruitment, the 44-year-old has assembled a backline that works cohesively together. The free transfer of James Tarkowski and loan capture of Conor Coady were no-brainers, while Jordan Pickford is in the form of his life.
Last season, Lampard inherited a squad in crisis that looked out of sorts and survived by the skin of their teeth. But in spite of Pickford’s rare error, this performance that was full of commitment and valiance showed improvements are being made to bring Everton back as a difficult Premier League side to beat.
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