Jordan Pickford’s “cheat sheet” bottle covered in Liverpool notes proved to be pointless on Monday night.
The Everton goalkeeper’s water bottle was spotted during the Merseyside Derby at Anfield, showing the notes he had prepared on Liverpool’s potential penalty takers. His bottle was covered in diagrams of Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez, James Milner and Cody Gakpo’s penalty history, previous attempts and information on their run-ups.
The charts detailed where the players placed their previous penalties, including both scored and missed spot-kicks, with all four preferring to go to the goalkeeper’s left.
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Additional information on the bottle told Pickford to “check the run up” if either Salah or Milner were to take a penalty during the match. Meanwhile, the notes said to “wait right” for Nunez and “GK left” for Gakpo.
However, the preparation proved to be pointless as Liverpool were not awarded a penalty during their 2-0 derby victory. In addition, Pickford was at fault for the opening goal.
The England keeper’s poor positioning saw Salah beat the keeper to the ball after he came to claim a cross, allowing the Liverpool star to prod the ball into an empty net with a first-time finish.
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(Image: PA)
Monday night was not the first time Pickford had been spotted using notes on his water bottle, having also done so against West Ham in 2021. He also made use of similar tactics at the 2018 World Cup as the Three Lions beat Colombia 4-3 on penalties in the round of 16. Those notes proved pivotal as Pickford saved a penalty from Carlos Bacca during the shootout.
Salah’s opening goal was followed by Gakpo’s first since joining Liverpool in January to seal a 2-0 win and end a run of four league matches without a victory for Jurgen Klopp’s side.
The result leaves Everton 18th in the Premier League, one point from safety in the relegation zone. The Toffees visit host 17th place Leeds United in a relegation six-pointer at Goodison Park on Saturday.
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