Richarlison Leads Everton Past Saints

It's hard to turn down a tidy profit of between £23million and £39million, depending on certain clauses kicking in.

The Watford Hornets aren't a monied team in a monied bedroom community north of London, so they didn't.

On the other side, former Watford manager knew his Brazilian Hornet, Richarlison, was only scratching the surface of his talent while playing there.

So, when Marco Silva moved on to Everton, he was ready to make a transfer deal whenever the opportunity arose. When the price tag hit £50million, the Toffees pulled out their checkbook.

 

So far, so good.

Dude's been worth every penny and showed it again against Southampton, as he figured prominently in Everton's 2-1 triumph over Southampton.

Early goals have been all the rage in the Premiership's first couple of weeks, and this match was no different. As soon as the 15th minute arrived, the Blues earned a set-piece on the edge of the area. Instead of floating the ball straight into the box, Leighton Baines passed it to Morgan Schneiderlin, who quickly found Theo Walcott for the finish:

 

Soon thereafter, Saints fans had to be wondering ...

How'd Danny Ings miss this?

16 minutes after the Toffs' first goal, Walcott sent a perfect cross to Brazilian wonder boy Richarlison, who rose higher than Cédric Soares and beat Alex McCarthy:

In the second half, Southampton managed to pop their sole goal, coming from a set piece in the 54th minute.

A useful corner into the fray was trouble for Tom Davies, who couldn't head the ball away. It ended up clear for Danny Ings, who came to Southampton this summer on loan from Liverpool.

Dude's paying dividends already. Jordan Pickford had no chance:

And that was that.

Everton looks strong in the early going, and it's clear Richarlison is the main man.

 

The Toffees have a solid supporting cast, too.

It's shaping up to be a quality season for football on Merseyside. All of it.