Everton has put themselves in the history book for winning their first four games of the season after a 4-2 win over Brighton at Goodison Park.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin continues the scintillating form that got him an England call-up, scoring Everton’s opener against the Seagulls with a header. He is now the first Everton player to score in each of their opening four games in a Premier League season.
New signing, James Rodriguez continued to shun out great performance scoring a brace to round up an impressive performance under Carlo Ancelotti. With four wins from four, Everton currently tops the log with 12 points.
Jordan Pickford another talking point
The good Everton performance had its negatives. Jordan Pickford, who is England’s number one had a questionable performance going into the international break.
All was going well for the home side after Calvert-Lewin gave them the lead, but Pickford in the closing stages of a first half in which he had barely been tested, dropped a tame bouncing ball at the feet of Neal Maupay, who then slotted the ball in on the turn.
Everton were able to reclaim their lead before the break. Rodriguez’s freekick picked out fellow Colombian Yerry Mina, who headed in following a corner.
The playmaker then put the game beyond Albion, firstly sliding in to finish off Alex Iwobi’s chipped cross at the back post. He then found space in the same area to tap home Abdoulaye Doucoure’s pass.
The visitors also scored their second goal through a superb Yves Bissouma strike in added time.
With three of their first four games lost, Brighton 14th on the log, with their only win coming against Newcastle United.
The other negative for Everton in the game was the injury suffered by Richarlison in the first half.
Everton will be the league leaders for at least for some hours. They could be overtaken by Leicester and Liverpool, who both play on Sunday.
Calvert-Lewin and Ancelotti effect
Since his arrival at the Goodison Park, Calvert-Lewin has played under six managers, the first being Ronald Koeman, who occasionally played him at right wing-back and tasked him with providing opportunities for others.
But under the tutelage of Ancelotti, he is developing into a supreme finisher and the side is set up to supply him. He is now being molded into a top finisher like a former footballer, Filipo Inzaghi who was also nurtured at AC Milan by Ancelotti.
Although he is not at the highest level yet, Calvert-Lewin is showing promises. For instance, converting one early chance, gifted to him by an error from Bissouma, shows his improvement.
His positioning is now becoming that of a top-class, looking at the opening goal. He converted at the back post from Gylfi Sigurdsson’s cross to find the net. It might look simple on the surface, but is a testament to prowess and the ever-growing understanding of the service he needs from his team.
The team under Ancelotti has come a long way from some of the limp, directionless displays of last season.
The statement is very clear as the Toffees have scored 24 goals in their seven games of the campaign, which is more than any other side in Europe’s top five leagues.
