Gary Lineker says £30m Everton star has been better than ‘world-class’ Liverpool player this season

As for Liverpool, they bid farewell to Jurgen Klopp on Sunday after falling short in the title race this season.

Everton fans won’t be quick to forget a defining moment in Liverpool’s title push which came at Goodison Park last month.

The Toffees put in their best performance of the season and picked up a 2-0 victory over their Merseyside rivals.

With the season over, plenty of Liverpool players are likely to be in the mix for the Team of the Season.

While there will be fewer Everton players in that conversation, both Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer have Jordan Pickford in theirs.

Lineker says Jordan Pickford has outperformed Alisson Becker this season

Speaking on The Rest Is Football, both Lineker and Shearer named Pickford in their Team of the Season over Alisson Becker.

“There was two I was debating and those two were Pickford and Raya,” Shearer said. “Over the season, both of them have been outstanding.

“Raya was under huge pressure because Arteta put his neck on the line when he brought him in. He’s worked really well, kept 16 clean sheets, best defensive record.

“Obviously that’s helped with the players around him but for this one, I’m going for Pickford.”

“Are you? I’m going for Pickford. I’m really surprised we’ve agreed on that one because I thought you wouldn’t go for that,” Lineker said.

“For a variety of reasons, I think he’s been unbelievable. He’s a lot busier than someone like Raya. I think Ederson and Alisson are great goalkeepers but they’ve both made one or two mistakes this season.

“David Raya, I think made one or two mistakes early on but I think he’s bounced back well. Whereas Pickford, obviously a lot busier, he’s made 121 saves compared with Raya’s 46, Ederson’s 57 and Alisson’s 83, which is quite a lot.

“He has conceded more goals than most of the others but I think he’s been brilliant this season. [He’s] one of the reasons that Everton have managed to stay up, despite the points deduction.

“It’s hard to think of mistakes, one or two, but not too many. I think he’s calmed himself down a fraction, still gets a little bit over-excited and exuberant at times. But I agree with you on that.”

Alisson and Pickford’s 2023/24 Premier League stats compared

Even though Everton finished 42 points worse off than their Merseyside rivals, Pickford enjoyed an impressive campaign between the sticks.

The £30 million man kept more clean sheets than ‘world-class’ shot-stopper Alisson, while also making more saves over the course of the season.

Here’s a closer look at the numbers behind both players’ seasons in the Premier League.

Pickford

• 38 appearances
• 13 clean sheets
• 121 saves
• 51 goals conceded
• 1 error leading to a goal
• 1 own goal

Alisson

• 28 appearances
• 8 clean sheets
• 83 saves
• 30 goals conceded
• 2 errors leading to goals
• 0 own goals