Anthony Gordon's celebrations were stunted by the offside flag that wrongly sought to deny him his biggest moment at Goodison Park of the season so far.
But when VAR - for once - corrected a call in Everton's favour, there was pandemonium in the stands and joy written across the starlet's face. Amid the chaos Gordon found his way to the home dugout where, waiting for him, was Frank Lampard. Several pictures capture the embrace that followed. Together, they tell a story of an academy graduate with the world at his feet and a manager who has backed him again and again amid the squalls of speculation this season has thrown up so far.
Lampard has been Gordon's biggest advocate since the dust settled on last season's relegation scare. In the summer he gave him the number 10 shirt and told him at a fan event in Washington DC : “He can be whatever he wants… he’s absolutely got all the talent, he’s got the right attitude… everything is there for Anthony.”
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His belief in the 21-year-old's future appeared to be shared by Chelsea, whose late transfer window pursuit included an offer to Everton for £45m. Lampard rode the storm and retained the player, who scored goals at Brentford and Leeds United as the interest from Stamford Bridge was at its peak. While the player remained a Blue, the determination of the reigning world club champions to add him to their squad - and Everton's refusal to countenance a big money deal for him at a time when questions lingered over the club's financial position - only increased the pressure on Gordon.
Speaking at the height of Chelsea's efforts to prise Gordon from Goodison Park, Lampard told the media he had no doubts in his youngster's ability to focus on performing for Everton. He said: "He is a very good lad, he appreciates what this club has done for him and what he has done for the club and he loves the club and I know from the conversations I have had with him that that will not be anything but this has to be a positive for Anthony whatever. My feeling is Anthony is going to be a top, top player for club and country and these are all experiences he is going to gather over his career so what he will have to do is just take those experiences and get a bit better for them. Once we get through this patch and he is an Everton player he just has to get his head down and keep working the way he is working and the way he has done since I have been here and his career is going to go in one direction after that."
Everton got through that "patch" with Gordon still their player. But the fervour around the England Under-21 international only increased as outsiders tried to understand what had happened. Why did Chelsea want to spend big? Why were Everton so adamant he was not for sale? This increased further as his form dipped for a few games, as claims of stumbling contract talks were made and as discipline became a talking point - Gordon missing the trip to Tottenham Hotspur after being suspended for collecting five yellow cards in the first nine games of the season. He then picked up his sixth upon his return at Newcastle United.
Throughout this period Lampard stood firmly behind his player. He said he had no issues with Gordon's discipline - insisting it is not "worth hanging on too much" to that as an issue. Of the contract claims he had " no concerns about the noise " and added "generally I’m all for players getting what they deserve in their contracts". Throughout it all he maintained his primary focus was on developing Gordon, turning him from a hot prospect into a top talent. Lampard had, of course, been heralded for his work with the likes of Mason Mount at Derby and Chelsea and other young players who have since gone on to impress.
As the most recent round of speculation surrounded the Kirkdale-born winger, Lampard was again grounded: "You try and have a close relationship, which I do have with him. We laugh and joke a lot, he’s a good lad a funny lad, and I can be to the point with him as well, he takes that as well so I’m not really focusing on that either."
Few are privy to the pair's relationship beyond the media glare but, as they embraced in the home technical area following Gordon's third goal of the season, there appeared little doubt they have forged a close bond. Lampard has spent the past seven weeks, since the transfer window closed, protecting Gordon in public and trying to develop him at Finch Farm. On Saturday, Gordon repaid that faith on a personal and a professional level.
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