Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford repaid Carlo Ancelotti’s faith in him on Saturday with a stunning reflex save against Newcastle.
There were rumours the England No. 1 could be dropped by Ancelotti following his clanger during the 1-1 draw with Leicester on Wednesday.
But Pickford more than made up for it by keeping the scores level at Goodison Park.
The 26-year-old somehow sprung to fingertip Callum Wilson’s header onto the crossbar from point-blank range in the 31st minute.
Describing the action live on talkSPORT, former Man City winger Trevor Sinclair praised Pickford’s ‘excellent reflexes’.
“Wilson rose really well and got good contact on it, it looked like it was on target and that’s an excellent reflex save from Jordan Pickford,” Sinclair said.
Some save from Jordan Pickford!
His fingertips push Callum Wilson’s powerful header onto the bar
Chance of the game so far… pic.twitter.com/Z4vWH6Nql1
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) January 30, 2021
It follows calls for the Toffees stopper to be replaced as England’s first-choice by Burnley goalkeeper Nick Pope.
Speaking to talkSPORT earlier this week, former Manchester United and Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Bosnich said: “In terms of Nick Pope – he’s been outstanding.
“Obviously the international scene still is up in the air, but right now in my opinion if you were going to pick a team for England it would have to be [Nick] Pope to start – there’s no doubt about that.”
Pickford produced a timely reminder of what he can do to fire back at his critics.