Everton will do well to remember that ritual again this season. Wilfried Zaha gets praise but Norwich, Watford and Jesse Marsch do not.
Winners
Everton
Any Everton supporter with a proclivity for ritualisation might find these last few weeks of the season particularly taxing. It is basic human nature to superstitiously recreate certain behaviours and practices – wearing a supposedly ‘lucky’ item of clothing or following a specific morning routine – in the hope of capturing that same positive energy. Fans might not be able to control what the players do, but if setting off early morning fireworks outside the opposition hotel, carrying an incredibly tranquil dog aloft through a raucous crowd, noisily welcoming the team bus, playing a game of catch with Richarlison and a flare and hiding the match ball up your jumper during stoppage time preceded a crucial victory over the reigning world and European champions, it might be worth trying again for the last five fixtures.
Everton will be petrified of changing anything, considering how long it has taken to stumble upon a formula that works. After three wins and a draw in their opening four games, the longest unbeaten run the Toffees have been on in the Premier League this season is two matches. That surely has to change at some point before the end of the campaign for them to survive.
But after watching that gap to safety extend to five points before kick-off on Sunday, Everton finally produced under pressure against Chelsea. It was a dogged, determined performance typified by Jordan Pickford’s brilliance, Yerry Mina’s snide and the industry of Demarai Gray and Richarlison, who combined for the winner. The only negative is that Frank Lampard’s side have two fixtures remaining at Goodison Park in comparison to three more trips away. Stock up on sparklers, prepare the calm canines and wear the baggiest clothes possible for that four-day period in which Brentford and Crystal Palace visit Merseyside,…
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