Ancelotti defends Pickford again, happy for Calvert-Lewin

Everton made heavy weather of it, but in the end the Blues won the game against an attacking bottom table side in Brighton & Hove Albion. The 4-2 win did not come too easily with a Jordan Pickford mistake and lax defending reducing the impact win for the Blues.

In the end though, Carlo Ancelotti was pleased with how the team did overall, knowing that tougher tests lay ahead.

“He did a mistake but nothing happened, we have three points more and this is the most important part.

“This is not the right place to talk about Pickford, if I have to say something to him when he comes back (from international duty) I will talk to him.”

Most of the Blues now get to go away for international duty where they can rest and recuperate from the heavy schedule of seven games played this month.

There had been plenty of naysayers about Dominic Calvert-Lewin, but now after he’s potted nine goals in six games and gotten his first England call-up, his bandwagon is quickly filling up.

“This is the moment of Dominic Calvert-Lewin now. There is not just one reason. He is confident, we are seeing him improving and he is scoring goals and that is the most important motivation for a striker.

“With Dominic, there is not only one reason for his form. He is confident and we are seeing him improve. He is scoring goals which is the most important thing for a striker,

“When a striker scores goals he is absolutely more confident and this is how it is now for Calvert-Lewin. We are optimistic for 15 days because there is a break. Then we will have a fantastic test, the most difficult test we can have, against our neighbours.”

Everton’s first game after this break will be against Liverpool, with a real opportunity to finally record their first win over as