As the Premier League heads into the final run of fixtures for the current season, every single game has become a final for Everton.
With relegation rivals Burnley gaining steam in their quest for survival, it has put the Toffees in jeopardy who took their place in the bottom 3.
The away win against Manchester United surely helped the club’s chances of survival but Frank Lampard’s men were unable to find consistency in form (which has been an issue throughout the season) as they drew to Leicester and lost to cross-town rivals, Liverpool.
The morale was wavering heading into the Chelsea game for Everton but the players responded in an inspired fashion to beat the European Champions at Goodison Park.
Following a costly mistake from Cesar Azpilicueta, Brazilian forward Richarlison put the Toffees ahead on the evening. Although Chelsea enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, the Everton defence stood resolute led by their goalkeeper Jordan Pickford who played out one of the games of his life on Sunday.
Alongside the players who left their all on the pitch, the Goodison faithful too played a crucial role as the 12th man in ensuring the win against Thomas Tuchel’s side.
Inside the stadium, it was a truly buzzing atmosphere that had its impact on Lampard’s men fighting it out against Chelsea.
On one occasion, an Everton fan single-handedly decided to help his side out as he was spotted hiding the match ball under his jumper in an effort to waste time.
From the footage that has surfaced on Twitter, when the ball went out of play, Chelsea’s Reece James can be seen looking for the ball when this Everton fan put it underneath his jumper and turned away. Soon after turning back to face the pitch, the fan cheekily dropped the ball under his seat and cast an innocent look at James who was still looking for the ball.
Similarly, fans outside Goodison too created a fantastic environment around the stadium in the build-up to the match. During one instance, a few Everton fans were spotted parading their pet dog through the crowd by lifting him up in the air.
Once again the footage from Twitter reveals that the dog, a Belgian Shepard called Myra too is an honorary Everton fan whose owners wanted her too to be a part of the buzzing atmosphere.
With Everton responding in style to the fans’ efforts outside and inside Goodison Park, perhaps these antics could soon turn into fan traditions before Everton games as the Frank Lampard’s men look to fight their way out of relegation with all the help they can get.
