Goalkeepers tend to be a little crazy and Jordan Pickford is no different.
But what transpired after the Everton gloveman’s bizarre act proved there may be method to the madness after all as he helped his side draw 1-1 away at Manchester City.
Pickford looked to keep a third-straight clean sheet for the Toffees as they travelled to the Etihad to take on defending Premier League champions City on Boxing Day.
Unfortunately for Pickford and the Everton backline, those hopes were dashed in just 14 minutes after Bernardo Silva opened the scoring.
However, Sean Dyche’s side answered back just 22 minutes later via Iliman Ndiaye, who produced a sweet finish with the outside of the boot inside the box.
City would have another golden chance to take the lead once again shortly after half-time when Savinho was brought down inside the box by Vitaliy Mykolenko.
Erling Haaland, who had one goal in his last six league appearances going into the fixture, would be the man tasked with taking the penalty.
Unsurprisingly, Everton skipper Seamus Coleman did all he could to play mind games with the Norwegian and picked up a yellow card for his troubles.
But it was a rather unique act from Pickford that may have done the damage in the end.
Prior to Haaland taking the spot kick, Pickford pulled a variety of bizarre faces to try and put Haaland off.
Initially, it did not seem to faze Haaland as he took a deep breath and struck towards goal.
However, Pickford had done his homework and produced a superb stop down low to his right to deny Haaland his 14th league goal of the campaign.
Amazon PrimePickford was willing to do just about anything to distract Haaland[/caption]
Haaland did have the ball in the back of the net when he headed home the rebound, but he was flagged for offside.
Once the flag was raised by the linesman, Pickford fired a cheeky wink in the direction of his Toffees teammates.
Speaking on talkSPORT commentary, Danny Mills and Sam Matterface loved what they saw from the Everton goalkeeper.
“I’ve just seen the replay before the penalty,” Mills said.
“Jordan Pickford sticking his tongue out early and then have a little dance in front of him as well. It’s a poor penalty.”
Matterface replied: “It’s the right way Pickford and he’s produced another save and then he gave a little wink to his defence. And he’s given the Everton fans a Christmas gift.
Mills branded Pickford a ‘character’ and added: “And I think because of that, you know, it can have the Marmite effect, but you know what, when he’s on your team making saves like that, you definitely love it.”
Matterface responded: “He’s a proper goalkeeper though, isn’t he? I mean, he’s a character as you say, but he’s… let’s say zany.”
Mills said: “Like a box of frogs.”
Pickford’s penalty stop on Haaland was not just his second of the season but his second in a row, having denied Anthony Gordon when Everton faced Newcastle in October.
Prior to the Magpies clash, he has saved just one of the previous 20 on target he’d faced in the Premier League.
The Everton goalkeeper was also Mills’ choice for man of the match.
“I’m going to give it to Jordan Pickford for the save,” Mills said.
“As simple as that. He had all his antics, the tongue hanging out beforehand, waving at Erling Haaland. Give him a little bit.”
If his penalty save hadn’t endeared Pickford enough to the travelling Everton supporters, a heartwarming post-match act will certainly have done the trick.
Pickford kindly gave away his shirt and gloves to two incredibly luck Toffees fans who had made the trip to Manchester, ensuring it was one memorable away day.
As for Haaland, it was a game to forget.
Pickford’s fine stop was the first time Haaland had a penalty attempt saved in the Premier League.
Additionally, the Norwegian marksman’s recent record sits at a worrying three strikes in his last 13 league games.
Worryingly his goal tally in that span of fixtures is far below his expected goals figure (xG), which sits at 8.2 and points to a serious underperformance in front of goal.
It wasn’t just Haaland who was toothless in attack for City, as they peppered Pickford’s goal with 24 shots but only five were on target.
The result means Everton have now drawn against Arsenal, Chelsea and City in a row, while the Citizens have now won just once from their last 13 games in all competitions.
