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It was the kind of away victory that made Rafa Benítez purr. The Spaniard is a great master of football and will have secretly relished his battle with the relative upstart Graham Potter. In the end, the older man took the loot thanks to meticulous preparation, patience, and the occasional quality lightning bolt.
The future of Richarlison being certain only “99.9%”, that of Demarai Gray is fixed. And it was the latter who grabbed his second away goal in a week to put his side in their path. Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s Cool As You Like Sealed the Points with an Hour. The only downside of the afternoon was the English striker limping a bit later. The sensible thing would be to exempt him from his next international duty.
Despite all the talk about Paris Saint-Germain’s interest in Richarlison, Gray’s star shone the brightest. An unannounced shrug signing for a relative pocket change, Gray, at 25, remains a player with immense potential. But he has been for eight seasons now, despite winning a Premier League winner’s medal at Leicester. Benítez might just be the man to unlock it. This is, after all, how the post-Madrid Rafa works, eliminating every ounce of players acquired under budget cuts. The first signs are promising.
For Potter, it was a disappointing afternoon. Having started the campaign with back-to-back wins – plus a midweek cup success – Brighton appeared to have rocked its ‘look good, don’t win’ label. But despite a brilliant start and fluid interaction throughout, a free kick from Pascal Gross early in the second half that Jordan Pickford on the wrong foot was closest to them.
After dozing off for the opening half hour, Everton suddenly regained their verve. First, Andros Townsend – sharply taunted as all of the former Crystal Palace stars are in these parts – cut from the right and forced Robert Sánchez to swing around the low post to his left. Then, Sánchez missed a clearance that found its way to Abdoulaye Doucoré on the edge of the box via Townsend. The Frenchman leaned back and picked up his effort to the sky. Richarlison did the same a minute later.
It was a warning, and one that was not heeded because shortly before the break, the visitors took the advantage. Gray was fed just inside Brighton’s half of the field and advanced into the penalty area. The winger pushed outside Adam Webster and landed a left-footed strike in front of Sánchez.
Benítez has scribbled something on his notepad. Potter reacts by introducing Joel Veltman at the intermission; it did not go as planned. Caught napping by Seamus Coleman’s intelligent indoor run, Everton’s skipper was shot dead. Richarlison placed the ball on the spot; his teammates pushed him away, to the delight of the crowd. Unperturbed, Calvert-Lewin converted the penalty.
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The hosts kept pushing, but even Danny Wellbeck’s first appearance of the season did nothing to inspire. Pot shots that failed to trouble Pickford were as good as it gets, as Everton took his first clean sheet of the season. Benítez’s glasses fell into the top pocket. When will they sing his name?
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