Everton manager Frank Lampard hailed his goalkeeper’s heroics against in the win over Manchester United as he said: “Jordan Pickford is England’s number one for a reason.”
Pickford made several important saves before Anthony Gordon’s deflected shot gave Everton a lead they were able to protect to the final whistle. The Blues keeper then produced a sensational reaction stop to Cristiano Ronaldo with just minutes left.
Describing the role Pickford played in a win that means Everton will not fall into the relegation zone this weekend, Lampard said: “I think there were two good saves in the first half and an outstanding save at the end. It felt outstanding to me because of the moment and, to be honest, a few bits like that have been going against us slightly, moments you kind of expect the net to bulge - one of those happened at Burnley.
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“He has quality and he made the saves. Keepers don’t always get the recognition - it’s the Anthony Gordon show, or Richarlison, or whoever. Jordan Pickford is England’s number one for a reason and he absolutely showed that today.”
Lampard praised his players for their resilience following a week that saw defeats at West Ham United and Burnley - the latter leaving Everton just one point above the drop before the clash with Man Utd.
Highlighting the importance of giving the supporters a display they could get behind, he said: “I have got to give the lads a lot of credit here because it is not easy. Two defeats in a week, with performances good enough to get points but we didn’t get them, the general reaction to that is obvious - it is two defeats in a week.
“So to go again on a Saturday morning against a team that is fresh, that is full of quality, and show that level of fight and spirit and desire, to join the fans into the occasion and bring them in… that is not a given until you put the effort in and they did today and they got what they deserved.”
