Monday, March 1, 2021 at 10:52 PM• Jeroen van Poppel

Everton did excellent business on Monday night in the battle for a Champions League ticket. The team of manager Carlo Ancelotti booked a tight victory over Southampton thanks to an early goal from Richarlison: 1-0. Everton has played one game less than the competition and rises to fourth place with a win in the next game, which provides access to the coveted billion tournament.

Although Southampton seemed to start strong, Everton took the lead in the ninth minute. Gylfi Sigurdsson sent a clever through ball to Richarlison, who dribbled past Fraser Forster and scored from an awkward angle: 1-0. Michael Keane thought to double the lead after 26 minutes, but assistant Mason Holgate was offside in the run-up and was therefore called back by the VAR.

After half time, Everton became dangerous twice in a row via a standard situation. First Ben Godfrey saw a bet from close range promoted to corner by Jannik Vestergaard, then Keane headed wide in a promising position. Southampton insisted in the final phase and got a good shot in the person of Moussa Djenepo, who aimed from the edge of the box past the far post. Everton was lucky that Jordan Pickford had a beautiful save in the ninetieth minute on a dangerous attempt by Vestergaard.