Everton v Southampton player ratings: Richarlison strikes early; Nathan Redmond in desperate need of form

Everton move level on points with neighbours Liverpool after 1-0 win at Goodison

EVERTON RATINGS: Jordan Pickford 7 – Had few saves to make until the 90th minute, when he blocked from Vestergaard to deny a late equaliser, His distribution was solid all game, his long-range passing in particular superb. Reuters

Ben Godfrey 6 – The defender was lucky not to give a penalty away before the break when he tumbled to the ground with Che Adams. He was impressive apart from that, and at the other end his header across the face of goal was almost converted by Calvert-Lewin. Reuters

Michael Keane 6 – Thought he’d scored his fourth goal of the season, from a well-worked free-kick. He headed home from close range after Holgate headed back across the face of goal, but Holgate was adjudged offside. Reuters

Mason Holgate 5 – He strayed offside when he got on the end of Sigurdsson’s free-kick, and his passing on the left flank lacked quality throughout. Reuters

Lucas Digne 6 – Was strong in the challenge defensively and looked dangerous when running at Bednarek. His crosses caused the Southampton defence problems. He was lucky to avoid a yellow card in the second half. Reuters

Abdoulaye Doucoure 5 – Was sloppy on the ball and gave the ball away far too many times. He was also guilty of straying offside when Everton were on the attack. EPA

Allan 6 – Looked a bit rusty on his return, but his presence liberated Gomes and enabled the Portuguese to get forward. Reuters

Andre Gomes 6 – Gomes dipped in and out of the game. His range of passing at times offered Everton quick transitions, but there were spells where the game passed him by. AFP

Gylfi Sigurdsson 6 – Played a delightful through ball for the opening goal and delivered a teasing free-kick which Richarlison couldn’t quite convert when on the stretch. After that, he went very quiet. Reuters

Dominic Calvert-Lewin 7 – The striker was a nuisance all evening. He was strong in the air and brought others into play well. Very clever with the ball and winning free-kicks when exposed on his own. Reuters

Richarlison 7 – Took his goal well after a perfectly timed run into space. He took the ball round Forster and scored into the empty net from an acute angle. He came close again but couldn’t quite get enough on Sigurdsson’s cross. AFP

SUB: Alex Iwobi N/A – Tried to kill some time by taking the ball into the corner. AFP

SUB: Josh King N/A – Came on in injury time to waste some seconds. Reuters

SOUTHAMPTON RATINGS: Fraser Forster 5 – In only his second start of the season, he came out to make a good early claim at the feet of Dominic Calvert-Lewin. He perhaps could have done better when Richarlison took it round him to score. Reuters

Mohammed Salisu 4 – In his fifth game for Saints, he had a difficult time against Calvert-Lewin. He was outjumped by the Everton forward in the build-up to the opening goal, and he then gave away a free-kick in a dangerous area with a high boot. Won very little in the air against the England striker. Reuters

Jan Bednarek 4 – Made a key block when Everton broke free before half-time, but he looked like a centre-back playing as a full-back. He was a weak link, and Everton tried to exploit it. AFP

Jannik Vestergaard 7 – Solid at the back all evening. Like Salisu, he struggled against Calvert-Lewin in the air, but he showed great positional awareness on a number of occasions. He had a glorious chance to score from close range late on, but his effort was blocked. EPA

Ryan Bertrand 5 – Overlapped on the left a number of times, but his delivery didn’t always match the quality of the build-up play. AFP

Moussa Djenepo 7 – He showed some neat touches on the right hand side and might have had a decent shooting opportunity had Ings not got in his way after neat work from Bertrand. He had a good chance to level the game when, with six minutes left, he blazed high and wide when played in. AFP

Stuart Armstrong 6 – Worked extremely hard and was full of running, even if his final ball didn’t match the quality of the rest of his play. AFP

James Ward-Prowse 5 – Delivered a constant stream of fantastic deliveries and one free-kick in particular had Calvert-Lewin in trouble and heading past his own post. Didn’t offer a great deal in open play. AFP

Nathan Redmond 4 – Redmond is in desperate need of some form, but it didn’t come at Goodison Park. He lost the ball far too often, won few tackles and created little in the attacking third. He was substituted late on. AFP

Che Adams 4 – Made a lot of running but offered Saints little going forward. Had a shout for a penalty in the first half. Reuters

Danny Ings 6 – Delivered a delightful cross in the opening exchanges which he himself would have thrived on, but there was no-one in the area to convert it. Overall, he worked really hard when trying to win the ball back. AFP

SUB: Dan N’Lundulu N/A – Held the ball up well but did little in the final third. Reuters

SUB: Nathan Tella N/A – Looked good when he came on and will feel hard done by that he didn’t replace Redmond sooner. EPA

SUB: Caleb Watts N/A – Came on too late to have any real impact. Reuters

Everton's Brazilian striker Richarlison struck early to secure a 1-0 win over ailing Southampton in the Premier League on Monday and compound the problems for the free-falling visitors who have taken one point from the last 27 available.

Seventh-placed Everton are now level with Liverpool on 43 points with a game in hand and still very much in the hunt for the European places, while Southampton remain in 14th spot, seven points above the relegation zone.

Everton had the better of the few chances as they claimed a first home victory in six games at Goodison Park.

Richarlison provided a neat finish to Gylfi Sigurdsson’s perfect through ball after nine minutes to secure the points after another toothless display from Ralph Hasenhuttl’s side.

"A very good performance, I really appreciated the teamwork of the players. We deserved to win," Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti said.