Richarlison scores winning bullet header for Brazil

Neymar limped off with a groin strain after just 6 minutes and our boy has joined the fray, playing wide left, Firmino down the middle and Willian wide right.

Lovely header from a corner on the stroke of half-time.

Best Brazilian player on the park since he came on.

For the previous 9 years, they had only ever said 'Quem?' (Who?)

Unlucky not to grab a second at the death with a good double save by the Cameroon keeper.

Richarlison is a manager's dream. As he does for Everton, he takes responsibilities for his mistakes and chased back deep in his own half if he lost the ball.

Not that he did that much tonight. He was excellent all night. Took up good positions. Made good runs with and without the ball and but for some greedy feckers around him, going for glory with woeful shooting when Richarlison was in a better position, he might well have added to the single winning goal.

Very interesting that Tite chose to put him on instead of Gabriel Jesus when Neymar got injured early doors.

The Brazilian commentators continue to drool over Richarlison. Mind you, without Neymar and Coutinho in the side, there isn't much magic in this Brazilian team, is there?

Willian - a player who should be producing it at this level - continues to be very much MIA - missing in action.

Slowly but surely, Richarlison is cementing his place in the Brazilian team.

It's got to be good for his confidence and club form.

Brazil

When the missus came in from work and I showed her the goal, she did likewise.

"That was like the phenomenon at his best."

Ronaldo is affectionally known as 'o fenômeno' in Brazil.

Ronaldo, Richarlison isn't. But he is, as you say, a damn fine player.

And now, it seems we can add 'very good in the air' onto that list too. I'm very impressed with him thus far (can you tell?), and excited to see how good he can become.

Tidy header!

Some player we have here; now it's about building the team around him and Marco keeping him happy because no doubt more spurious Man Utd links will surface slowly now that Lukaku's goals have dried up.

I can see it now though. Endless potential this kid. Talent allied to a ferocious work ethic.

I predict Lookman will also be a star for England; yes, his tracking back is not yet on a par with Richarlison but the lad is an amazing talent too.

So much to drool about being a Blue!

However, I do expect most of our best players to be linked with moves away before the New Year. Gomes, Richarlison, Digne etc... Our next two windows will indicate if we are ready to challenge the Sky darlings.

Hey! Just passing on what I heard. :-))

The new "He's electric Richarlison" chant we nicked off Man City is quality as well — hopefully we'll hear it in full voice against Cardiff this weekend!

A couple more signings of his ilk and we'll have a real team on our hands.

Up the Toffees!

Answer, all of them would want him on their books, bar none. This kid is the next world superstar, Ronaldo's and Messi's torch will be passed on.

His decision to come to Everton to improve and progress with Marco Silva is paying dividends. He has the personality to not let the attention go to his head too. PSG or Man City will be dangling an oid- funded cheque for him in the summer for 𧵎M+. Barca will be already scribbling on a fag packet a Gomes plus cash deal.

I sincerely hope we resist offers for him and Jordan too, and go for the top 4 all guns blazing next season with all our best players and maybe one addition (if loanees are retained). It is about time we had some success at Everton; I can smell its sweet smell in the distance.

At least Brazil have called him up, so no-one can tell him he needs to move somewhere to get capped by Brazil.

Everton are on the up, going to get better and better, a club that players will want to come to, especially when we move to Bramley-Moore Dock.

I heard a whisper, a small one, that Gomes will be staying here after next summer, and why wouldn't he???

It all depends on Bramley-Moore Dock.

Disagree Thomas. Long term, a modern stadium will help. But David Moyes's Everton of street urchins made the top four without a spanking new stadium.

In recent years, Spurs have consistently qualified for Champions League before they built (but not yet occupied!) their new stadium. That is the model we should pursue.

It will be 3 years minimum, more likely 4-5 years in a best case scenario, before Everton may be playing at the Bramley-Moore Dock stadium. We cannot wait until then and expect to retain our better players without competing for Champions League football.

It is up to the management and board to get the recruitment and playing side right before then to have us pushing for regular Champions League football.

Richarlison, Bernard, Lookman, Calvert-Lewin, Walcott — There's a frighteningly pacy forward line to choose from. Seems a long way from Tosun and Rooney providing the pace up front!!!

Ricky, stay well away from Neymar, bad company. He wrecks that Brazil team.

Maybe give Lookman a shot. Or take a closer look at Onyekuru (not sure he's ready yet).

Plenty of decent wingers. Richarlison could be a top class centre-forward and those are very rare.

But, considering his explosive way of playing, I'm afraid of him getting injured.

Sure, you can't read too much into anything like this, but over videos in the past (from Sure's link up with Everton) were not so flattering on the lad's finishing.

I think Dom has gone up a gear this season. Sure, he ain't scored many, but he's not played many. So 4 goals in all competitions is pretty good and considering he got the 4th in October (I think) and that being 50% of what he scored last season already, for me the signs are there of a lad developing.

The other thing from that video is his physical appearance. The lad is filling out. He looks a supreme physical specimen right now. For me, finishing ability aside, I think he has everything you need for a striker. Obviously, finishing is nearly everything for a striker, but if this is coming along, then he could be some player. I'm glad Silva seems more ready to give him cameos than Tosun, and I hope to see Dom get himself a run in the side and start firing them in.

That said, I think I was wrong on Richarlison. I still think he's better right now on the left of a front three. Note: he's not a winger. He doesn't play on the wing. He doesn't go outside of his man and whip crosses in. He comes inside and scores goals. This is the inside left position. I think he's best there.

But, I do think he can develop into a striker. Clearly he has ability heading the ball and is showing signs of being able to lead the line as a proper striker. I'm not sure back to goal still, but not all strikers need to be back to goal, and if we do need such a player, then Calvert-Lewin does this very well.

As for signing another winger. I'm not so sure. I think we don't need 2 top quality players for every position. Doing so would mean that we have 4 players who cannot even get on the bench. They wouldn't like that and the good atmosphere would be ruined.

Instead, I like the idea of having 3 quality wingers, 3 quality full-backs, 3 quality centre-backs, 3 quality central midfielders, 2 quality attacking central midfielders, and 3 quality strikers (of different types). That way you have quality in the side and on the bench and then the promising young players can get on the bench when there is injuries, and no-one is missing out on making the matchday squad and so rocking the boat.

Therefore, winger wise we have Richarlison, Bernard, Walcott, and Lookman. We also have Evans, Broadhead and Gordon doing well in the U23s. Evans and Gordon see themselves as No 10s, but they're more likely to break into the side as wingers. I wouldn't want to see someone like Lozano come in, push Lookman down the pecking order and all of the good young players out the door without a game in the Premier League.

We need to accept that, in order to properly develop younger players., they need games in the Premier League and so we need to give them opportunities.

Evans, Broadhead and Gordon are not part of the equation yet, they've barely featured at top level. If we are using Richarlison as a striker (and I think we should), that means Bernard, Walcott and Lookman as wingers. Very decent options but, for me, Walcott is too up and down and Lookman has yet to start a run of games convincingly (though I have high hopes for him).

Certainly not a priority but I wouldn't say no to Lozano or any of the other wingers I mentioned.

I hope Calvert-Lewin can continue to improve. With the interest in each game magnified and so much at stake, it's hard to imagine what goes through a young player's mind when a chance arrives in the box. Composure is the big asset for a striker and that comes with experience. I remember the golfer Howard Clark say in a golf commentary 'you have to play as if it doesn't matter, when it matters most, same for strikers, although one could take the 'doesn't matter' to extremes.

I don't know enough about Lozano to know if that would be best for the club, but Brands knows better than anyone. I also trust he knows how to build a top quality squad, whilst still developing young players.

Calvert-Lewin looks better because he's not being asked to shoulder a burden better, and more experienced players should have last season. Less a work horse, more asked to play his position. Question is, does Silva think he can give him enough game time to continue the improvement in his game?

We are missing a quality centre-forward, but they are rare and likely to beyond us financially.

In a season of transition, Silva should take the gamble of picking him.

The lads they have at present including Walcott just don't seem to fit the bill in a way that will take this club to the top six and stay there.

We need to do everything we can to keep this boy happy. He is the answer up front and is only going to get better.

We have potentially a world class player on our hands. The last time that happened we had to sell him to stay afloat.

We need more goals in the team to take the weight off him. Let's be ambitious and go and buy more quality in January. A quality left mid and another striker would be a start.

Get my coat!

I like that idea. That would be so cool to hear the entire stadium making pigeon noises when he scores!

The lad is now becoming a man, he has the physicality, he is strong, very quick, and can finish adeptly with his feet or head. When he eventually makes the No 9 his, I believe he will become through experience, lethal and be unstoppable!

Link

Hopefully he can have an easy run out against Cardiff and then do some damage the next week!!!

Yes, Calvert-Lewin is single-minded too, seems up for the battle to prove himself. I am sure more opportunities will come for him; he must be ready to deliver and stake his claim to be a starter.

Fair play to Marco Silva he knew the kid could deliver for us, and stuck to his guns, a lot of good signings in the last window, and performances that have us as fans, looking forward to every game. At long last, we seem to have a team capable of coping with teams from both ends of the table.

As has been mentioned, we need to hang on to our star assets, learn from the past, and possibly add to the squad with more quality. Hope I am right but we look a bit like Man City were 2-3 seasons ago, and they have got it right now.

I'm all for optimism but realism is just as important. We have an awful lot of improving to do until we're at that level. Hopefully we've made a start, Moshiri retains his appetite to invest and Financial Fair Play doesn't scupper us if he does. If so then we have a chance to build a quality squad that gives us a chance of competing, firstly for top 4, then later for titles – but we are miles off at present.

What's next? Snoods??

Let's all hope that Richarlison can help us to a decent lead in the first hour, before being subbed in readiness for the trip to Analfield the following week.

I must admit to being a Calvert-Lewin sceptic. Seemed not be neither aggressive or sharp enough as a finisher despite good all round play. I agree with other comments that this is beginning to change. He has filled out physically. is getting in better positions and converting more of his chances.

The first goal for England U21s showed really good awareness and speed. It is interesting that it is Calvert-Lewin rather than Tosun who is being brought off the bench as replacement or top-up striker.

It is early days and games like the Cardiff one have to be treated the same way as any other – with the utmost professionalism. I expect a tough game on Saturday; Cardiff won't go down without a fight.

This league is insane, the margins are as tight as they've been in years. Wolves should have taught us that. Everton need to play well to expect anything, regardless of the odd stinker from an opponent.

I think Calvert-Lewin has come off the bench recently because he is more similar to Richarlison, in that he is quick and will press constantly. Tosun is a more traditional #9 who will play between the posts.

I think we'll see Tosun come on first over the weekend as we will have much more of the ball than normal – so crosses will be thrown in more and more.

I can see a lot of talented young players at Goodison, eg, Calvert-Lewin, Davies, Lookman, Kenny etc... so I will be interested to see if Silva is coaching them properly to get the best out of them.

No coach should take responsibility for him not tackling, having a weak left side, or being incapable of playing a simple first-time ball when on. He needs to look in the mirror first.

From the games I've seen him play for Chelsea, it looks to me as if the skill is being coached out of him. Yes, he's scored a goal or 2 – but most of the time he's playing crab Rodwell passes. If that's meant to be him shining then I am glad he's gone. He's playing a game which is constrained by coaches that don't trust him in my opinion.

Yes, he is in favour at Chelsea and, because of that, Southgate picks him... but for how long?

In Barkley's case, previous managers gave him too much freedom to express himself, expecting like most of us, that there was another Rooney in there. It worked up to a point, but the quick instinctive football brain turned up missing, which was very disappointing.

Sad to see him in a Chelsea shirt on mostly bench-warming duties. He should just get his head down and stay quiet.

He needs to keep his head down and try to get a place in the Chelsea starting line-up.

If you look at the other side of the Barkley story, there were those that said, allegedly, that he "couldn't" be coached. I said it a while ago and I stick by what I said then.

There's virtually no difference in Barkley's play since he moved to Chelsea – just a difference in his profile.

Barkley has a weak left side? What are you on? He's one of the most two-footed players around.

I honestly don't think he is anything different from the player we had but he has got better players around him, which helps. He has played in a fairly conservative way so far... but, with so many Fancy Dans in his side, it may be his best option.

Richarlison on the other hand is the real deal. Young, raw, talented and has a football brain. This kid can go as far as he wants.

However, I remain skeptical of our ability to sign him. Barcelona, Chelsea and his childhood favorite Man Utd are lining up for him next summer. And if he continues performing at current levels, he'll be far beyond our budget.

Nobody here has been boosting the boy longer or stronger than I have, but I think our window closed when he lit up the World Cup.

Players always have the best brought out in them when playing under a manager who can organise the team well, playing good attacking football, particularly 'ball players' like Barkley.

He seems to be having a decent spell at Chelsea at the moment, no doubt helped by their being a good well organised side. But he doesn't look any better than when he played for us at a time when we were well organised, like in Martinez's first season.

I don't think more can be read into the situation than that. Perhaps when Barkley talks about 'no coaching' he's referring to the lack of organisation after Martinez's first season?

He has to show consistency for the rest of the season to convince me he is a top performer and worthy of an England place.

Richarlison has scored three times in six international appearances and netted a decisive header in a 1-0 friendly win against Cameroon this week.

Following the victory, Xavier said: “Marco Silva is really important in his career, he brought him to Watford then Everton. That is something which is really good for us. We exchange information between the club and the national team.

“He played as a winger for Watford and initially Everton, and for Brazil, we were using him as a centre-forward – the position he has been playing for Everton recently, too.

“This is really positive and Marco Silva is one of the most important guys in developing his career.”