I missed Dominic Calvert-Lewin's opening goal in Everton's win over Crystal Palace on Saturday.
Work commitments in the city centre meant a 3pm finish and a quick taxi dash up to Goodison Park, with an optimistic arrival time of 3:15pm confirmed by the Uber app.
It was during that journey that one of my ECHO colleagues, who knew I was in transit as the action kicked off in L4, decided to indulge in some horseplay.
'Did you get in for the goal? 1-0 Zaha' flashed up on my phone at 3:13pm. Nightmare.
'Only messing, 1-0 DCL' came through a minute later. Relief.
As I shuffled down Winslow Street in the knowledge that Everton were in front, I tried to envisage what Calvert-Lewin's goal might have been like.
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Perhaps one not too dissimilar to his thunderous header against the same opposition in May? Or just as likely, a sliding finish at the back post from a cross? After all, sticking the ball in the net while horizontal has become trademark for this most recent version of Calvert-Lewin.
But listening to conversations inside Goodison Park as I weaved through the Gwladys Street to my seat, it became apparent it was neither. Winning it back, putting his marker in a spin, slamming a shot past the goalkeeper from the edge of the box. It didn't sound like a typical Calvert-Lewin goal. Replays later proved as much.
The England striker has always been a technically adept footballer, able to bring the ball down in tight spaces and draw others into play with finessed flicks - think Alex Iwobi against Newcastle United in the 98th minute.
Calvert-Lewin has a rare blend of attributes. He can be balletic and brutish, flamboyant and forceful all at the same time. The leap he possesses is astounding, while he has enough pace to scuttle away from all but the sharpest Premier League defenders.
Yet those myriad positive qualities haven't always been utilised as effectively as he would like in the penalty area and in his goalscoring. Calvert-Lewin has never looked completely at ease dribbling with the ball, while his one-on-ones with goalkeepers often prompt a loss of composure.
Under Carlo Ancelotti there was a clear shift in Calvert-Lewin's game. He became almost exclusively a penalty box presence, thriving on the supply line from James Rodriguez, Richarlison, Gylfi Sigurdsson and Lucas Digne.
"I am fine-tuning certain aspects of my game," said the Everton no. 9 in October 2020 after Ancelotti compared him to Filippo Inzaghi, the archetypal goal poacher. "Beforehand, I was guilty of doing a lot of my best work away from the goal. But now I am getting in between the sticks and putting the ball in the back of the net."
"That analogy from Carlo was more of an emphasis on being in the right place at the right time, not to say I am a carbon copy of Pippo Inzaghi but there are elements of his game that I have been showing in my game and they are one-touch finishes and being in the right areas to put the ball in the back of the net."
The worry about Calvert-Lewin's recent returns have been that he - and perhaps even Super Pippo himself - may struggle to score goals in a team that has not created enough chances. While Alex Iwobi has emerged as a new vibrant midfield pulse, the service that Calvert-Lewin relied on in his most prolific years has largely gone. After all, Lampard himself admitted last week that club simply doesn't possess a player like Rodriguez any more.
It means there will be more of an emphasis on him to make chances himself if he is to reach the goalscoring heights he once did. He will have to win possession back more, he will have to try to take on opponents more often and he will have to be more ruthless in his finishing from different distances and angles. Carving out an opening and scoring on Saturday is a fine start.
Of course, it's only one goal and we are just three games back into his latest return from a significant injury. Patience is very much the order of the day for the player, the manager and fans.
But if Calvert-Lewin can remain in shape and continue to mesh his many natural gifts together in a manner as effective as Saturday, Everton will have an attacking force on their hands. One that can be much more than a penalty box poacher and more than their own version of Inzaghi.
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