Anthony Gordon: A shining light on a disappointing afternoon for Everton

Brighton & Hove Albion secured the win after a five-goal thriller at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon.

A much-changed Everton side saw their talisman Dominic Calvert-Lewin return to action for the first time since August. The Toffees faced an in-form Brighton side, who entered the game in Merseyside after an excellent result in midweek, as they earned a point against Chelsea thanks to an injury-time goal from Danny Welbeck.

Due to Everton not playing since December 16th, they also came into the game with their previous result being a 1-1 draw against Thomas Tuchel’s title challengers, arguably their best result of the season with a number of key players missing from the encounter against the Blues.

However, it was the visitors from the South Coast who continued their unbeaten run with a much deserved 3-2 victory, putting even more pressure on an already struggling Rafa Benitez.

An early Alexis Mac Allister goal shocked Goodison Park as he latched onto a knockdown from Neil Maupay to open the scoring in the third minute. The visitors then doubled their lead after 20 minutes after a corner from Mac Allister was flicked on at the near post by Enock Mwepu who found Dan Burn with the defender’s header putting the Seagulls firmly in the driving seat.

The Toffees were awarded a lifeline just minutes later as they were awarded a penalty for a foul on Anthony Gordon. The returning Calvert-Lewin stepped up but saw his attempt to reduce the deficit hit the top of the crossbar and fly over.

Everton managed to halve the deficit less than 10 minutes into the second half as Gordon’s deflected effort left Robert Sanchez helpless in the Brighton goal. As the game entered the final third and the hosts pushed for an equaliser, they were caught on the counter-attack and were punished in emphatic fashion.

A 20-yard volley from Mac Allister riffled past Jordan Pickford to restore the Seagulls’ two-goal cushion. Back came the Toffees once again pulling a goal back through Gordon but it wasn’t enough as Graham Potter’s side secured their first-ever win in the Premier League at Goodison Park.

Amongst a disappointing afternoon for Everton fans, there was a shining light for them to get excited about.

Anthony Gordon was by far the best player on the pitch for the Toffees against Brighton. Having been at the club since the age of 11, he made his debut for the Merseyside club in a 3-0 win against Apollon Limassol in the Europa League. He did have to wait before making his Premier League debut which came three years later in a 1-1 draw against West Ham.

The youngster has needed to be patient before getting his opportunity, even though he started against the club’s rivals Liverpool in September 2020. He was then sent out on loan to Preston North End in January 2021, a move that confused the fans.

However, this season, when given the opportunity, he has proven to have the ability to beat a defender and get his side down the field with his blistering pace. In a game that many expected Everton to win, he dragged his side back into the game not once but twice.

2-0 behind inside 20 minutes, it was the winger who was brought down by Mwepu to win the penalty that Calvert-Lewin ultimately missed. However, eight minutes into the second half, it was his solo run that saw him get the luck he deserved with his shot deflecting off Adam Lallana and into the back of the net.

As Mac Allister’s thunderous effort looked to have given Brighton a comfortable final 15 minutes, who was on hand again to pull his hometown club back into the game? Of course, it was youngster Anthony Gordon!

A ball inside to Calvert-Lewin saw the striker find Jonjoe Kenny, whose cross saw Gordon beat two defenders to the ball, and under considerable pressure, he was able to direct the ball goalwards past Sanchez to set up and tense final 10 minutes.

The game almost ended in a remarkable comeback. With just minutes remaining, a long ball into the box saw Salomon Rondon beat his man before his cross found the on-rushing Gordon, but under pressure from Burn, he was unlucky not to direct his effort on target.

At full-time, he received rapturous applause from the Gwyaldy’s Street for his performance with his manager praising him for his performance during the post-match press conference.

“He has a much better mentality now than in the beginning. At the beginning, he was a young player coming in with quality. Everyone was talking well about him but he wasn’t performing at the level of the Premier League.

“Now in the past months he has changed a little bit, he has been working harder, he can get even better as he has the potential but I am really pleased because he is growing, he is improving and that’s great for the team.”

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