Richardson is facing an investigation by the Football Association after throwing a flare off the field at Goodison Park after his decisive victory in the 46th minute against Chelsea.
The Everton striker launched a blue rocket over the end of Gwladys Street after being thrown on the pitch during a goal celebration that could be vital to the team’s attempts to avoid relegation. Referee Kevin Friend did not take action against the Brazilian national, but the FA will investigate. A written warning may follow. “We will look into the matter, but as far as we are concerned, Richardson was trying to throw it off the ground,” an Everton spokesman said.
Frank Lampard, who did not see the incident, was full of praise for his winner of the match and his goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, who made a series of great saves to reject Chelsea in the second half. “I encouraged Richie before the game because he always makes such efforts, but they have to be focused in the right way, in terms of energy and production, to put people under pressure,” said the Everton manager. “When he gets his chances, he has to be clinical. For the level of an attacker that can be, he has to be clinical and he was today. But not only him, Demaray Gray and Anthony Gordon had a lot to do with their legs and they all performed at an extremely high level. We never switched off much, and when we did, we had a top-class goalkeeper to save us. ”
Everton remain third from the bottom, two points behind Leeds and Burnley, but with a game down both rivals from the relegation. Lampard added: “I feel there is a long way to go. We can control our games, but we can’t control Burnley and Leeds. “
Lampard’s team received a stormy reception on arrival at the stadium from thousands of fans who lined up at Goodison Road to wait for the team’s bus. Captain Seamus Coleman admitted: “I’ve been here a long time, but I’ve never been in this situation before and I’ve never felt what I felt when I came to the stadium today – the real passion, the faces of older men singing Everton. If that doesn’t move something in you, you can attach the boots. We did it for them. “
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Chelsea manager Thomas Tuchel has admitted he fears the team’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League after a four-match winning streak. “I said it many weeks ago, I never feel safe and it doesn’t matter if we are in the race for first place, two, three or four – we have four points from the last four games and that will never be enough,” Tuhel said. “Right now we don’t get points when we play well and we lose when we don’t. That’s a bad mix. “
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