Tuesday, 3 November 2026
Kenyan Digest

Momentum from big results can carry us through to season’s end

3 min read
Published

By JORDAN PICKFORD
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After a fantastic result and performance against Manchester United last Sunday, we head to Crystal Palace this weekend with a top seven finish firmly in our sights.

That 4-0 victory against United was undoubtedly one of our finest performances of the season so far.

It was a brilliant afternoon at Goodison Park - the sun was shining, we scored four great goals against a top side, kept a clean sheet and added another three points to our Premier League total.

After the final whistle, there was a buoyant feeling among the players and staff in the dressing room, as you would expect following a result like that. The manager laid out the game-plan and we put it into action, with every player doing what was asked of them from a tactical point of view.

Our fans also played a full part in the victory too, generating a wall of noise from the first minute until the last. They were incredible and when Goodison is like that, it makes our jobs so much easier.

Richarlison and Gylfi Sigurdsson scored with clinical finishes before half-time and that’s an indicator of the threat we have at the top end of the pitch.

Those two, together with Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Bernard, have formed a potent four-pronged attacked in recent weeks, and then when you look at the bench and see Theo Walcott come on to score the fourth goal, it shows we have strength in depth, which was the key to overcoming United.

I didn’t really have a save to make in the game and that shows how hard all the players worked from a defensive point of view.

I’ve managed to keep clean sheets in four of my last five appearances, with three of those coming against Chelsea, Arsenal and Manchester United.

Any clean sheet is rewarding but when you are facing players and clubs in the top six positions it is always going to be more difficult to achieve. That’s 11 clean sheets for the team in the Premier League this season, so I’ve beaten my record from last year, which was 10. There are still three matches remaining so the aim for the team must be to improve on that.

The Chelsea match in March was my 100th appearance in the Premier League and it was nice to reach that landmark. I think it shows I’m learning every day, and with every match, and that I’m maturing as a goalkeeper.

We are on a good run of form at the moment, especially at Goodison, where we have managed to take 10 points from our last four matches, against teams who are challenging in the top six positions in the table.

It's back to business again at Crystal Palace, who will provide us with another tough test this weekend. We know the ability they have in their squad, with skilful players like Wilfried Zaha, so we are well aware of the threat they pose and won't be taking anything for granted.

Last time we were in London, we had a disappointing afternoon at Craven Cottage. Fulham put in a strong performance that day and were determined to try to prove people wrong after suffering relegation the previous week.

It was a difficult game for us but to bounce back against Manchester United in the manner we did, underlines the character in our squad.

In football you won’t have a full season where you have a straightforward run of games and where every match is comfortable - that’s one of the great strengths of the Premier League, that it is so competitive.

We’ve got three fixtures left and we are determined to ensure we finish the season strongly. Seventh position and the possibility of qualifying for Europe remains firmly in our sights and we will be doing everything we can to achieve that before the final ball is kicked on May 12.

Jordan Pickford is a goalkeeper at Everton FC.