Everton ended its worst home run since 1958 by beating Southampton 1-0 in the English Premier League and keeping its Champions League dream on track.
Richarlison stopped for the third game in a row within the first 10 minutes on Monday, and Everton continued to move within two points of fourth-placed West Ham with a game in hand.
But the pain continued for the Saints with one draw and eight hits in their last nine league games, leaving them seven points above the bottom three and wondering where their next win will come from.
The Saints would have thought they had a chance against Everton considering their guest’s poor home three hits in a row but their only real chance fell to Moussa Djenepo in the last 10 minutes, and he wide kettle when in good condition. It was an escape for Everton, who escaped after a second goal was ruled out for being wrong halfway through the first half.
Richarlison’s square finish in the ninth minute was only his fifth place in the league but, since the start of last season, Joao Pedro (30) and Neymar (19) of Paris St Germain are the only Brazilians to score more goals in the league. five major European leagues than his.
Playing against two with Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who has 13 goals in the league, Richarlison took his chance brilliantly.
Gylfi Sigurdsson, in the side for James Rodriguez who was left out as a minor injury warning, took advantage of the spot that Mohammed Salisu gave him going down in an aerial challenge with Calvert-Lewin and the team- James Ward-Prowse team.
Iceland’s face slipped through a pass for Richarlison, who was making the same cross-right run that saw him score at Anfield last time out, to go around Fraser Forster.
It was the first time since December 2019 that he has scored in three consecutive league games.
Michael Keane ‘s VAR – controlled boss was upside down as Southampton’ s intention to keep a high dangerous line at free kicks caused more than a few problems but, strangely, rather than decorating it, the guests became more relaxed and it could have cost them.