Goalkeeper Pickford saves penalty thanks to "secret" on water bottle

Everton will play away to Leicester City in the late match of round 34 of the Premier League in the early morning of May 2 (Vietnam time). This is no different from a "reverse" final when the home team is ranked 17th while the away team is ranked 19th but the gap between the two teams is only one point.

Everton's fate seemed sealed when they were awarded a penalty in first-half stoppage time after Michael Keane handled the ball and the visitors were trailing 2-1 to hosts Leicester City.

However, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made a brilliant save from James Madison's penalty. Television cameras captured a close-up of the document stuck to Pickford's water bottle that helped the English goalkeeper successfully save his England teammate's penalty.

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford successfully blocked James Madison's penalty in the 45+9 minute of injury time of the first half (Photo: Getty).

Water bottle with goalkeeper Pickford's documents (Photo: Sky Sport).

The bottle of water clearly stated Maddison's statistics: 60% to the middle, 20% to the left, 20% to the right, accompanied by the instruction to "stand still". Pickford trusted this statistic and predicted his compatriot's shot to the middle of the goal.

In addition, from the television images, fans can also see the penalty statistics of two other Leicester stars, respectively Jamie Vardy (30% to the left, 20% to the middle and 50% to the right, according to the shooting direction) and Youri Tielemans (100% to the left).

Commenting on his penalty save, Pickford told Sky Sports: "That was a lesson from James Madison! He was caught out by me on the penalty. No, to be fair I was just doing my homework. I looked at the stats to decide where to go."

The 1994-born goalkeeper's save lifted his teammates' spirits. In the second half, the visiting team Everton scored a goal through Alex Iwobi, thereby leaving King Power with a point from a 2-2 draw.

Joking about the TV cameras catching the 'secret' on the water bottle, goalkeeper Jordan Pickford said: "The cameraman did a great job tonight. We were both fighting, both teams were in dangerous positions, maybe that's why there was a bit of anxiety and pressure on both teams.

But it was a good game to watch, we created a lot of chances, their goalkeeper made a lot of saves. We know we are still in the bottom three.

It's a point but it's better than us leaving empty-handed. We need to roll up our sleeves and continue to work hard together."

Fans have also been praising Pickford on social media. "Love this. Pickford does his homework and is brave enough to stand still and not jump to one side or the other." Another fan commented on the information on the water bottle: "Good information. Clear, simple, effective."

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/the-thao/thu-mon-pickford-can-pha-phat-den-nho-bi-quyet-tren-chai-nuoc-20230502072612235.htm