Monday, October 18, 2021 at 09:48• Yanick Vos

A photo of Jordan Pickford’s water bottle is currently doing the rounds on social media. A Getty Images photographer captured the Everton goalkeeper’s water bottle during Sunday afternoon’s Premier League game against West Ham United (0-1 defeat). When the Toffees conceded a penalty, Pickford could see on his water bottle which angle he would have to dive into if Mark Noble, Mikhail Antonio or Declan Rice fired.

It is a method that is not unknown to Pickford. At the 2018 World Cup, he had a similar list on his water bottle for the game in the eighth final against Colombia. The England international returned a penalty from Carlos Bacca in the penalty shootout. Partly because of his input, England reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup. He also saved two penalties from Andrea Belotti and Jorghinho in last summer’s European Championship final. However, that was not enough for the European title.

Everton did not concede a penalty at Goodison Park on Sunday afternoon. Still, Pickford and his teammates left the field with a defeat. The goalkeeper had no answer to the effort of West Ham defender Angelo Ogbonna fifteen minutes before the end. It turned out to be the only goal of the game.