Michael Brown lauded Richarlison on BBC Radio 5 Live for his ‘magnificent’ composure to score two penalties before Everton collapsed to lose away to Burnley on Wednesday night.
The Toffees crumbled at Turf Moor to suffer their seventh Premier League defeat after just nine games under Frank Lampard. They now sit just one point clear of the relegation zone, with the Clarets edging into 18th-place following only their fourth win of the season so far.
Events could have played out very differently in Lancashire, though, after Richarlison gave Everton the lead over Burnley. The Brazilian first pulled the Goodison Park natives level on 18 minutes following Nathan Collins’ opener, before converting another nearing half-time.
Lampard will have questions for his defenders after Collins was able to sidefoot home after 12 minutes at a corner. Mike Dean gave the Blues a lifeline soon after, however, when the referee pointed to the spot, deeming Ashley Westwood to have fouled Anthony Gordon.
Richarlison was as cool as you like to fire home his first goal in 10 games. And he made no mistake from 12-yards out on 41 minutes when Everton got another. Dean initially ignored Vitalii Mykolenko’s call, but VAR Darren England told him to review Aaron Lennon’s tackle.
Brown hails Richarlison for ‘magnificent’ composure for Everton vs Burnley
Dean was adamant at first that Lennon did not foul Mykolenko, but took England’s advice. Not that it affected Richarlison, who put his penalty in the same corner as the first to put Everton in front at Burnley. But defensive mistakes saw the Toffees crumble at Turf Moor.
Everton will regret their missed chances having created the better openings, before Jordan Pickford and Ben Godfrey’s errors let Jay Rodriguez and Maxwel Cornet snatch a vital three points for Burnley. Relegation is becoming an increasingly real prospect for Lampard’s side.
Richarlison ending his drought since January 15 will offer Lampard a slim silver lining. And former Manchester City midfielder Brown loved his confidence when beating Nick Pope.
“Magnificent composure from Richarlison, you fancied him all the way,” Brown said. “He waited for Pope to commit and he put it in exactly the same corner as before.”
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