It was the slap of the left hand that gave the game away. Right arm tucked under his body, appearing to nurse his hip, Jordan Pickford’s reaction immediately after he had crashed to the ground showed this was not going to be a quick fix for a physio.
Pickford had flung himself to his right in an attempt to keep out another Dwight McNeil blockbuster. Everton’s number one had already been beaten twice and the fury he felt towards his team-mates for presenting chances to McNeil and Chris Wood had been evident as he screeched in frustration.