Keith Hackett: 'Reckless' Pickford 'lucky' as Chelsea denied penalty at Everton
Yesterday at 01:20 PM
Jordan Pickford was fortunate not to give away a penalty for Everton in their goalless draw with Chelsea, Keith Hackett has said.
The former PGMOL official and ex-FIFA official exclusively told Football Insider that the goalkeeper was reckless with a challenge he made on Malo Gusto.
It was a somewhat feisty encounter between the two sides at Goodison Park on Sunday (22 December), with James Tarkowski and Axel Disasi clashing early in the second-half.
However, it was an incident involving the Everton keeper and Gusto that could have changed the outcome of the match had the officials viewed it differently.
Jordan Pickford avoids penalty concession for Everton vs Chelsea
With 31 minutes on the clock, Chelsea came close to opening the scoring as Nicolas Jackson planted a header against the post.
As the ball dropped fell to Gusto on the rebound, Pickford came rushing off his line in an attempt to shut down the chance, flying into the right-back in the process while seemingly getting a small touch on the ball.
With referee Chris Kavanagh not awarding a penalty on the pitch the decision was checked by VAR who elected not to overturn the on-field call or recommend a review.
It was not dissimilar to the incident in which the Everton keeper injured Liverpool captain Virgil van Dijk in October 2020, and Hackett believes he was fortunate not to be punished here.
Speaking to Football Insider about that challenge from Pickford, the ex-referee said:
“I believe that Pickford was lucky to escape a penalty kick award and a yellow card for that challenge.
“He came in with pace and was reckless.
“With VAR intervention I am surprised that the referee was not asked to view the monitor on the penalty kick decision alone.”
A goalless draw leaves Everton 15th in the Premier League table, four points clear of the relegation zoneas they look to push on after being taken over by the Friedkin Group this week.
Chelsea meanwhile missed the chance to move top of the standings for a brief period at least prior to Liverpool’s clash with Tottenham in the day’s late kick-off.
In other news, a Ligue 1 club are plotting a January move for an Everton player.
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The post Keith Hackett: 'Reckless' Pickford 'lucky' as Chelsea denied penalty at Everton appeared first on Football Insider.
