Everton and Liverpool fought out an eventful 0-0 Merseyside derby draw at Goodison Park.
In a game that swung from end to end, Tom Davies hit the woodwork for Everton while Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz suffered a similar fate for Liverpool.
Everton keeper Jordan Pickford turned Nunez’s shot on to the bar brilliantly and also denied Liverpool substitute Roberto Firmino on three separate occasions while Mohamed Salah hit the post again in the final seconds.
Former Liverpool defender Conor Coady thought he had broken the deadlock against his former club when he turned in debutant Neal Maupay’s shot but the goal was disallowed after a lengthy VAR intervention.
As well as Coady’s disallowed goal, Everton forced two outstanding saves from Liverpool keeper Alisson as he denied Maupay and Dwight McNeil, whose shot was deflected towards the top corner.
Jordan Pickford has barely made a mistake for England and yet has to deal with constant noise about his position being under threat.
Manager Gareth Southgate ignores it and Pickford is making his case by displaying the finest form of his career at Everton.
Pickford was magnificent in this goalless draw with a succession of outstanding stops to keep Everton on level terms, although there was also much to admire from Frank Lampard’s side in other areas.
He displayed great athleticism to turn Nunez’s shot on to the bar in the first half, showed great reflexes and agility in denying Firmino three times, and then pounced at his near post to touch Salah’s shot on to the post with virtually the last kick of the game.
It would have been harsh on Pickford to end up on the losing side after a performance that must rank among the finest of his career.
EPL SATURDAY RESULTS
Everton 0-0 Liverpool
Brentford 5-2 Leeds
Chelsea 2-1 West Ham
New Castle 0-0 Crystal Palace
Nottm 2-3 Bournemouth
Tottenham 2-1 Fulham
Wolves 1-0 Southampton
Fixtures
Sunday 04/09/2022
Brighton Vs Leicester
Man United vs Arsenal
