Everton

Everton

Premier League • England

‘I broke my hand’ – Wild Lampard celebrations come at a cost, as Everton boss fumes at Allan red card

Everton manager Frank Lampard

Frank Lampard admitted he broke his left hand in the wild celebrations at Goodison Park, and fumed at Everton now being deprived of Allan for three matches.

Everton took a giant leap towards securing their Premier League status in the most dramatic fashion possible. The Goodison Park crowd roared their stars on all evening, but the off-form Toffees found it difficult to create clear-cut opportunities.

Their chances of snatching a last-gasp winner suffered a blow when Allan saw red for a needless lunge on Allan Saint-Maximin. Refree Craig Pawson – who drew the ire of the home crowd all night – initially awarded a yellow card.

However, after being advised to view the incident on the pitch-side monitor, Pawson upgraded Allan’s yellow to red.

Nevertheless, 14 minutes of time were added on after a lengthy delay freeing a protester who had tied himself to the goalpost early in the second half. And nine minutes into injury time, Alex Iwobi struck to send Goodison into raptures.

MATCH REPORT: Late Iwobi strike snatches critical victory as 10-man Everton make Goodison roar

Speaking to Amazon Prime after the match, Lampard said: “I’ve broken my hand in the celebrations. My bones must be going soft, I don’t remember the moment.

“It was an amazing night and we need those nights. Spirit and togetherness, the players stood up tonight.

“It was not a night for quality or calm. It means so much to the stadium we all felt that. I wanted to use the atmosphere.

“Everton fans wanted to see passion. We proved what we could be tonight.”

Lampard fumes over costly Allan red card

On the decision to send off Allan that has divided opinion, Lampard was adamant the challenge did not warrant a dismissal.

“I don’ t think it is a red card” added Lampard. “It is a yellow, yes, is it a strong yellow? Possibly.

“But that isn’t a clear error. It was the wrong decision and we lose Allan for three games.”

Complimenting the determination his side showed under the heaviest of pressure, Lampard continued: “We showed grit and our defenders defended.

“A lot of spirit and togetherness. We are in this situation and when we have to fight, we have to fight.

“Newcastle are a good team, they will be alright. From our point of view, it was can we dig in? And can we get one or two opportunities when down to 10 men.

“There is a lot of talk about Dominic [Calvert-Lewin] and being involved in that goal will do him the biggest favour. It will hopefully be the catalyst for him. We need a fit and firing Dom to help this team.”

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