One man in particular was met with a rather frosty reception upon taking to the pitch at Anfield prior to today’s Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton.
As noted by journalist Chris Beesley on Twitter/X, Jordan Pickford ‘was met with boos from some home fans as he took to the turf’ to warm up in front of the away supporters who’d already assembled in the corner of the Anfield Road end.
Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford warms up in front of the away fans in the corner of the unfinished extended Anfield Road end. The England number one was met with boos from some home fans as he took to the turf. pic.twitter.com/pisgaCidne
— Christopher Beesley (@CBeesleyEcho) October 21, 2023
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England’s first-choice goalkeeper has made an annoying habit of being the villain of the piece in previous incarnations of this fixture.
Two seasons ago, he rather unsubtly wasted time as Everton frustrated title-chasing Liverpool for much of the game before the Reds eventually plundered two goals to emerge victorious, his sneering hilariously replicated by Alisson Becker in stoppage time.
Of course, there was also the notorious incident three years ago when the 29-year-old wiped out Virgil van Dijk with a reckless challenge which ended the Dutchman’s season and somehow saw the Toffees ‘keeper escape without any form of punishment.
Pickford seem to relish playing the pantomime villain in Merseyside derbies, but having conceded 20 goals in 14 previous clashes against us and been on the winning side only once (Transfermarkt), he mightn’t be grinning too much if LFC preserve their 100% record at Anfield this season.
#Ep94 of The Empire of the Kop Podcast: EOTK Insider with Neil Jones🎙️