World News – AU – Everton 4-2 Brighton: James Rodriguez double for fit hosts

Posted: 2:00 PM EDT October 3, 2020 | Updated: 6:49 p.m. EDT, October 3, 2020

Is it too early to call up Carlo Ancelotti’s Everton title contenders? It’s not just the record that impresses, seven out of seven in all competitions scoring 24 goals, but the balance and conviction in their game.

Skipper Seamus Coleman goes back the years, Yerry Mina and Michael Keane were strong at the back with Ben Godfrey about to arrive from Norwich, and further ahead, Dominic Calvert-Lewis and James Rodriguez look like create and score every time they touch the ball

Calvert-Lewin’s precocious header, reminiscent of his mentor Duncan Ferguson, was his ninth goal in six games this season As for Ham-ez, he has added a wow factor since joining Real Madrid

On Saturday he scored twice and set one up for his Colombian World Cup teammate Mina Evertonians deprived of a chance to see their new hero live will appreciate the prospect of watching him from Gwladys Street End He will receive a welcome

This is the first time Everton has won his first four league games since 1969/70, when he finished champion

You have to wait until Game 5, a Merseyside derby against Liverpool, to properly determine Everton’s true chances, but unfortunately England No.1 Jordan Pickford appears to be his weakest link at the moment

He dropped a clanger to give Neal Maupay an undeserved equalizer from Brighton after 41 minutes and he will be relieved of the firepower of his teammates on the other end, which won’t cost much

Everton (4-1-4-1): Pickford 45: Coleman 8 (Delph 58 6), Keane 65, Mina 7, Digne 6; Davies 65; Rodriguez 85 (Walcott 78 6), Sigurdsson 7, Doucoure 7, Richarlison 6 (Iwobi 25 7); Calvert-Lewin 75

Brighton (3-4-3): Ryan 7; White 55, Dunk 7, Webster 6; Lamptey 7 (Veltman 45 6), Bissouma 65, Alzate 6 (Alzate 82), March 5; Trossard 6, Connolly 55 (Lallana 66 6), Maupay 65

Gareth Southgate is loyal to her man on the international stage, but neither he nor Ancelotti can ignore repeated mistakes forever

<p We must come back from the international break with the same spirit, he said

« Our attack was good We defended well with the low block We played a full game »

To Pickford he added: « He made a mistake but nothing happened We have three more points This is the most important part »

The young leader of Everton rose to the far post to energize his effort with force

Brighton had touched the woodwork five times in their previous game against Manchester United last weekend, but there was no way that passage would be deemed unlucky

Mat Ryan was called into action to turn off Seamus Coleman and Dominic Calvert-Lewin even before the No.9 Everton rightly led his side after 16 minutes with his ninth goal of the season

Gylfi Sigurdsson was the supplier with a brilliant signature cross and Calvert-Lewin capitalized on a Ben White marker slip to brilliantly suspend the tunes and nod at home

The Everton goalkeeper dropped a simple cross at the feet of Neal Maupay – who returned home

But Brighton’s unexpected equalizer after 41 minutes was entirely the fault of Pickford, who has come under scrutiny for a few mistakes this season

Lamptey’s deep cross was stolen into the ground by Leandro Trossard and the England goalkeeper should have caught the ball as it bounced

Whether due to lack of focus, persistent rain, or lack of extra height, Pickford let the tame effort slip out of his hands and Maupay was in the right place to pivot and score from six meters, his clean finish finally crosses the line between the legs of Michael Keane

Yerry Mina turned his head in the first half timeout to restore Everton’s lead

It was the visitor’s first shot on target and marked Maupay’s fourth goal in four games

Everton could have moped after dominating the game, but instead they showed character to regain the lead in the first half

Skipper Seamus Coleman won a free kick and from there the goal was scored in Colombia Rodriguez had an excellent free kick in the danger zone and Mina propelled a header

Everton also started the second half quickly Calvert-Lewin was dealt a shot before becoming Everton’s third goal provider with the game moving after 52 minutes

He starred in Alex Iwobi whose cut to Rodrguez was sent by the Colombian, who arched his body brilliantly to connect with a half volley

Everton looked like they could score every time they made a breakthrough forward and added a fourth as Rodriguez kept an eye on the ball and stepped back from Abdoulaye Doucoure

« We were disappointed with the goals we conceded We contributed to our own problems today and that is not a good thing against a team of Everton’s quality » said the Brighton boss , Graham Potter, whose side have had a beastly fixture list so far having previously faced Chelsea and Manchester United

Rodriguez didn’t have a chance to do a hat trick, giving way to Theo Walcott with 12 minutes remaining, and Brighton surprisingly completed the scoring with a crush from Yves Bissouma This time around, Pickford was faultless

Everton have four wins in four league games this season and are heading towards the international break on such a rebound

It’s another defeat for Brighton after losses to Chelsea and Manchester United, but the hosts are now set for a cracking Merseyside derby in two weeks

Thank you for joining us today and be sure to keep an eye out for all reactions to today’s matches

Everton are back on top of the Premier League with their stars who once again put on a brilliant performance

James Rodriguez scored a third and fourth for Everton after Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s ninth of the season already to open the scoring

Neal Maupay equalized on a Pickford error before the imperious Mina rose to score James’ free kick with the first half final play

James then stole the show but Bissouma pulled one off with incredible effort in overtime

Ooft, this is a goal that deserves to be more than a sidenote of a game, with Bissouma scoring his third for Brighton in astonishing fashion

Keane directs the cross towards March, who in turn walks towards Bissouma, who controls brilliantly with his chest before heading to the corner past the helpless Pickford

Neal Maupay looks set to cut Trossard’s pass deficit, but Mina stretches again to get a leg on the striker’s goal effort

Another formidable block from Mina, this time stretching a leg to deny Trossard a certain goal

Lallana has had an impact since arriving and he plays it around the corner until March, but the Colombian throws his body on the low cross to divert it behind

Brighton didn’t put enough test crosses in the box today, but this time Bissouma does and it causes problems Unfortunately for the visitors it’s too long for the Lewis Dunk stretched out too

Brighton fate well with the ball but Everton’s pressure was brilliant in defense, Alex Iwobi leading a dangerous cross out of danger

That pretty much sums up Brighton as they advance the majority of the day as their latest attack ends without any sort of testing for Everton’s defense

Exactly the same area, and Everton return to the top of the league with James’ second

Doucoure gives the ball to Iwobi, who through the eye of a needle finds the Frenchman He watches the goal before returning the ball to James at the back post, who places the ball with his right foot to ensure the match

Mars does well to get a cross, but Pickford only manages to hit him straight to Maupay

The striker shoots but Tom Davies manages to block very well with the Brighton man ready to cut the deficit

Change for visitors, with Connolly being withdrawn for Adam Lallana, who returns to Merseyside after joining Brighton this summer

A bit of a lull as we pass the hour here, but we see Pickford’s best side here as he delivers a formidable long ball to Iwobi, who can’t control it

Yerry Mina was already effective in attack today and now he’s doing extremely well in leading a dangerous Brighton crossing over the bar

Seamus Coleman hangs on his hamstrings after a race with Connolly and can no longer participate He is replaced by Fabian Delph

The visitors really hit the ropes here, with an inviting ball that nearly finds Calvert-Lewin before Dunk’s mistake narrowly passed Ryan’s near post

It’s the Colombian who intercepts the wayward Brighton man pass, and it comes down to Calvert-Lewin who puts Iwobi

The defenders close in on the Nigerian but he manages to tie the ball to the back post where James finishes to sweep the house

Calvert-Lewin seems to be more of a problem here on Davies’ pass spin, but his touch is too heavy

Like Bissouma at the start of the first half, this time the Whites concede possession in dangerous territory to Doucoure, who feeds James

The Colombian is looking to get on the scoresheet for a second home game but his effort is blocked

These are the hosts who are throwing us back at Goodison Park, can they hold on for four of four wins?

There is a change for Brighton at half-time, with Tariq Lamptey removed for Joel Veltman

1 – Yerry Mina’s goal for Everton (assisted by James Rodríguez) was the first goal in Premier League history to be both scored and assisted by a Colombian Synergy #EVEBHA picTwittercom / 7awGarYxWx

7 – Since the start of last season, Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin has scored seven Premier League headed goals, more than any other Spring player #EVEBHA picTwittercom / uznpnIbGLJ

Jordan Pickford won’t want to see this one again, Neal Maupay is quick to capitalize on the mistake! 👏 photoTwittercom / REVKNcT7R1

It all started in a very typical way, Calvert-Lewin climbing the highest to meet Sigurdsson’s cross at the last post

Everton continued to dominate possession, but were pushed back against play when Pickford evaded Trossard’s effort to allow Maupay to equalize

But in the last action of the first half, Yerry Mina climbed the highest to come home on a free kick from James Rodriguez

James Rodriguez whips up a free kick from the right and Adam Webster just isn’t aggressive enough to challenge Mina, who gets up to pass Pickford

We even get a little dance from Mina and some of her teammates, but it will be more relieved for Ancelotti, whose team is in the lead again

Two minutes added to the end of what has been an odd half of football

Nice end of the half for the visitors, but Lewis Dunk wastes a good opportunity for a free kick by literally hammering him in row Z

Tariq Lamptey has a chance to put a ball in the box and he chooses Trossard, who does not connect with the volley in the ground

But on this rainy day, Pickford can’t catch the effort overhead and parry in the direction of Maupay, who holds back the keeper to pivot and puts an effort into Keane’s legs.

A sniff for Brighton, but Connolly can’t connect with a cross passing the Pickford post, before the Brighton man was flagged offside

The rain hasn’t calmed down at all and has actually gotten heavier since the start of the game, but Everton let that affect them and put in another impressive performance at both ends of the pitch

Connolly and Mina go head-to-head and the former comes off much worse Meanwhile, on offense, Everton makes sure the men around Lamptey cut him off, with Keane and Digne doing a great job of stopping the former Chelsea man in his tracks

Brighton presses well here but Everton manages to beat the press thanks to an excellent display so far from Doucoure

Lucas Digne launches a challenge very similar to the one Alzate launched for his reservation, but the Frenchman himself escapes a reservation

This is not good news for Everton fans, with Richarlison going straight down the tunnel and it looks like he damaged the same ankle

Lamptey still feeds on that right side and looks good with Solly March, but Everton show the same quality at the back as they are on top right now

The Brighton-right at the time embarks on a firm challenge on Richarlison, who is even worse for wear despite being a clean tackle

Brighton had kept their form very well until goal, but it was once again a superb play for Sigurdsson to dig a cross and for Calvert-Lewin to finish so strong

A quick free kick sees Sigurdsson catch a ball at the back post, and the New England man transforms into Duncan Ferguson and Olivier Giroud in one to get past Ryan

Both teams are struggling to keep their hands on the ball at the moment due to wet conditions, with players slipping and sliding all over Goodison Park

They may have lost two already this season, but they’ve shown the confidence to try and test Everton’s backline here via Lamptey

A rather cynical play from James, which drops after a clash with reserved Alzate, but there was nothing really about the challenge

Mat Ryan has been a busy boy from the start, this time deflecting a Seamus Coleman strike behind, before the corner kick was put in by Richarlison but Simon Hooper signals a foul as the ball is in the air

Yves Bissouma has missed the last three games and he’s showing a bit of rust here which is almost costing Brighton

Midfielder’s pocket is stolen and Calvert-Lewin leaps and kicks on goal, but Ryan is on hand to make a smart save

It is the visitors who are in guise of a bright yellow who put us on our way to Goodison Park after taking the knee

He’s absolutely throwing it at Goodison Park on both sides to get out on soaked ground

Ancelotti: ‘We started well Honestly I think we have done well in the transfer market, we have more ambition and motivation Unfortunately this is only the start of the season, there is still a lot left to do

On Calvert-Lewin: ‘He has more knowledge, he is really motivated and professional and I hope he can move forward with the same quality’

3 – Everton have won all three of their Premier League home games with Brighton, scoring six goals and conceding only one Superior #EVEBHA picTwittercom / Nc7B92OjIk

Not long before kick-off at Goodison Park, with Everton aiming to return to the top of the league

Surprisingly enough, Brighton has not lost an away game since January, winning four of its last five, including back-to-back Premier League away wins for the first time since November 2017

In the Premier League alone, their comfortable 3-0 win over Newcastle United last month means they have now won as many away games in their last four outings as in their previous 27

They’ve also had encouraging performances in losses to Chelsea and Manchester United this season, but Everton will be wary of the threat they pose.

James Rodriguez has been just as inspiring for Everton as Calvert-Lewin this season following his arrival from Real Madrid

He was sensational against West Brom on his Goodison Park debut, and now back home he could be ready for another stellar performance

Everton are pulling up front, and now they look to strengthen at the back with Godfrey’s impending move

Graham Potter will of course be focusing on today’s game, but even at the end of the season he will be wondering how his team didn’t take anything from last weekend.

Bruno Fernandes’ 100th minute penalty saw United snatch a 3-2 victory at Amex, as the hosts had 18 shots and Solly March equalized in the 95th minute

The Seagulls as a team have remarkably hit the frame of the goal five times, three of which have come from Leandro Trossard, the first time since Ronaldo in 2006

Their defeat in the Coupe de la Ligue to the same opposition a few days later was less shocking, but today’s visitors could benefit from a boost

The forward scored his second hat-trick in four games in the midweek win over West Ham, already bringing him to eight for the season

His prolific form has now been rewarded with a first recall to England ahead of Gareth Southgate’s October games for men

Calvert-Lewin now wants the match ball for the third straight home game, having already become the first player to score successive hat tricks in home games under Carlo Ancelotti since Cristiano Ronaldo

Wednesday night’s 4-1 win over West Ham United, making six of six wins at the start of the season for Everton – the first time they’ve done this since 1938-39

Another win today would seal their best start to the campaign since 1894, and they have already beaten Tottenham Hotspur, West Bromwich Albion and Crystal Palace in the league this season

👇 Here’s how we go on the pitch to take on @Everton at Goodison Park this afternoon ⚽️ # EVEBHA📲 https: // tco / S3j1TIvOB3 # BHAFC 🔵⚪️ picTwittercom / 2So779Sfjd

Good news for Carlo Ancelotti, with Brazilian striker Richarlison fit enough to start despite an injury against West Ham in midweek

What a week and what a season it has been so far for Everton, and their journey continues today against Brighton

Carlo Ancelotti’s men are one of three teams that still have a 100% record, and now they face Graham Potter’s men who suffered heartbreak last weekend

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EVERTON VS BRIGHTON