When Gary Neville lets out one of his trademark ‘ohhhs’, you know you’ve either seen something pretty extraordinary or something rather calamitous. In truth, this was a bit of both, Everton going 2-0 up against Merseyside rivals Liverpool as Jurgen Klopp’s farewell tour descended ever further into the realm of nightmares.
This, in truth, was the sort of performance we expected to see more far regularly from Dominic Calvert-Lewin following the appointment of Sean Dyche.
A manager famed for his love of physical, aerially-dominant centre-forwards getting his mitts on a man who appears to have mini trampolines built into his football boots.
But if Calvert-Lewin needed a penalty to end his 19 game Premier League goal drought, gifted another against Burnley the following week in early April, there was nothing fortunate about the way doubled Everton’s lead on Wednesday night.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin powers Everton past Liverpool
As Liverpool’s marking went AWOL, Calvert-Lewin soared through the hair, high-fived the moon, and then thumped a header past Alisson Becker. A classic Neville ‘ohhh’ as much drawn from bemusement at the visitor’s defending as well as admiration for the host’s number nine.
“When Calvert-Lewin is at his best, he can bully centre-backs,” Neville said during Sky Sports‘ coverage, the England international ragdolling Liverpool’s Ibrahima Konate to such an extent that Klopp felt the need to put the out-of-form Frenchman out of his misery in the second-half.
“Konate is a big bloke. (But Calvert-Lewin) has got to him. That’s the thing about centre-backs, they don’t like losing aerial duels and Everton are the best at it. He’s got some spring, that man (Calvert-Lewin).
“Konate was picked for the right reasons, to be that dominant partner for Virgil van Dijk, but it’s just not worked. They can’t handle Calvert-Lewin. He is beating Liverpool’s centre-backs up.
“He’s on fire.”
It wasn’t just his goal, it was the way Calvert-Lewin perennially dragged Konate out of possession, winning flick ons as Abdoulaye Doucoure, Jack Harrison and Dwight McNeil darted in behind.
Only Sheffield United’s Ollie McBurnie averages more successful aerial duels per 90 minutes than Calvert-Lewin, with the Toffees targetman winning a total of five up against Konate, Van Dijk and second-half sub Jarell Quansah (WhoScored).
Sean Dyche hails Toffees striker
“He was first class,” Dyche says of his 6ft 2ins centre-forward, Calvert-Lewin only denied a brace by the fact that Jarrad Branthwaite’s 27th minute effort had squirmed over the line before the striker made sure (Liverpool Echo).
“I said to him afterwards that that was the sort of performance where, if he can get that consistency, that is what gets people talking about you and gets you around that England team. That was a first class performance against top players and a top side.
“The hold-up play, the controlled aggression, the commitment to get hold of the ball and fight for it but also his finishing.
“I loved Jarrad’s goal. He (Calvert-Lewin) is sprinting on the line to toe it in! I love that from strikers. You want them to be hungry to score goals. That is a sign he is on top, that is a sign he is active. I love that. And then his header is a fantastic header.”