The electric atmosphere continued inside Goodison Park, and after a goalless first half in which Everton had the better of the play, they eventually broke the deadlock very early after the break through Richarlison’s strike (46).
It was not all plain sailing for Everton and they needed Pickford to make not one, but two stunning saves as he denied Cesar Azpilicuta with a save-of-the-season contender before blocking Antonio Rudiger’s goal-bound effort.
Everton came under late pressure as Chelsea pushed for an equaliser, but the Blues were denied again by Pickford, who kept out Mateo Kovacic’s low strike as Lampard’s side, urged over the line by the home fans, held on to move two points behind Leeds and Burnley, with a game in hand.
Meanwhile, defeat still leaves Chelsea, who stay third, with work to do to wrap up a top-four finish.
How Pickford’s heroics boosted Everton…
Everton, roared on by their supporters, were unsurprisingly quick out of the blocks. They pressed Chelsea all over the pitch and made life extremely uncomfortable for Thomas Tuchel’s side in the early stages.
The two sides exchanged shots on goal inside the first 10 minutes as Anthony Gordon’s free-kick flew over the crossbar before Mason Mount’s long-range effort failed to test Pickford.
After withstanding the early Everton pressure, Chelsea grew into the game, dominating possession. However, they failed to really click going forward and didn’t muster a single shot on target in the first half.
Meanwhile, Everton were feeding off the ferocious Goodison Park atmosphere and they were putting an incredible shift in across the park, but there was also a lack of real quality in the final third from the hosts.
Gordon had the best chance for Lampard’s side, but the forward dragged a shot wide of the upright from 20 yards as the two sides went in level at half-time.
The big question at the break was whether Everton could continue at the pace they set in the first half.
It took just 59 seconds of the second half to get an answer as Richarlison charged down an Azpilicueta clearance on the edge of his own area and the loose dropped to Demarai Gray, who teed up his team-mate to beat Edouard Mendy and give Everton the lead.
The lead should have been doubled moments later, but Vitaliy Mykolenko blazed wide with only Mendy to beat.
Then came Pickford’s heroics as he produced a superb goalline stop to deny Azpilicueta and then, in the next phase of play, he took a shot from Antonio Rudiger full in the face to keep Chelsea at bay.
He was soon at it again with a one-handed save from a Ruben Loftus-Cheek drive, but with the pressure growing and nerves jangling, Everton defended resolutely in a bid to keep a clean sheet.
In seven minutes of added time, they needed their goalkeeper again. Pickford got down low to block a Kovacic shot as Everton held on for a vital victory.
Pickford’s stunning saves… what they said…
Everton captain Seamus Coleman: “That save he came back off the line and parried out was world class, and we see that on a daily basis in training, and that is why he is England’s number one – some of the saves were world class.”
Everton boss Frank Lampard: “Jordan made great saves. They are Chelsea and will have chances, but we had chances as well. Jordan is such a great lad, he is England’s number one and that is the reason why. That is top-level goalkeeping, I am happy with him and all the players, and all the subs who came on.”
