Jordan Pickford is refusing to dwell on his sensational save from Cesar Azpilicueta - insisting the last five games of Everton's season are his priority.
Pickford's lightning-quick reactions and intelligent footwork drew praise after he pulled off the seemingly impossible against Chelsea last Sunday. Everton goalkeeping coach Alan Kelly went so far as to describe the stop as "miraculous" while some have compared it to Gordon Banks' iconic save from Pele for England in the 1970 World Cup.
Pickford is admittedly "really happy" with the save but believes it will only have a place in Goodison folklore if the club can secure Premier League survival.
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Pickford produced one of the most impressive displays of his Everton career as the club held on to beat Chelsea 1-0 last weekend. It was a crucial result that meant the Blues maintained control of their Premier League fate and pulled them within two points of safety.
The 28-year-old was integral to the victory, making two outstanding saves in the minutes following Richarlison's second-half goal. The second was an instinctive, point-blank stop from Antonio Rudiger after the defender found space at the back post from a corner. That corner had followed Pickford's impressive save from Chelsea captain Azpilicueta, who had the goal gaping after he had committed to a Mason Mount effort that struck both posts.
Speaking ahead of Everton's trip to Leicester City, Pickford said the importance of the save will only become clear after the season has concluded.
He said: "It's always nice to have that legacy of a save but, for me, I'm a team player, a club player, and it's all about staying up. So when we look back, we have got five games, we need to focus on each individual game, but when we look back, hopefully, I will look back at the end of the season with a smile on my face and say that was a vital three points and a great save."
Pickford's decision to run behind the goal line as he positioned himself for Azpilicueta's strike attracted the attention of pundits and analysts - the move allowing him to quickly close down his opponent and shift his bodyweight in the opposite direction as the ball was hit back across him.
Reflecting on his thought process, Pickford said everything he did in that split-second was on purpose. He said: "When I have landed off Mason's shot and come back round to Azpilicueta, as I have started to get three or four [steps] across the far side of the goal I knew his shot was coming so I have scrambled again, I have had to just readjust at that last second to make that save because I knew if I went that way - where you would have thought I might have went - I knew I would have been dead in the water really. I think it would have been a goal because it would have been quite hard to stop my momentum but I have used my footwork to change my momentum to make that save."
Despite the attention paid to the save by others, the England international did not spend his Sunday night replaying footage of it. Nor has he spent much time looking back at the highlights, understanding his focus has to be on Everton's survival battle.
And while he clearly enjoyed it in the moment, he said he knew he could not get carried away by the reaction of the crowd - which proved important as he was called upon to save from Rudiger just seconds later.
He said: "I have seen it back, it was a good save, I'm really happy with it but I don't get carried away because I have made a really good save. I have just known... I want to focus on the next action because the next action was Rudiger's shot, which hit me in the face, so I think you've got to be in the moment for the full. You do have to enjoy it a little bit after but the position we are in, it's about the next game, so for me it's focus, have the day off Monday, go and have a relax, play golf, which I did, and come into training for the rest of the week giving 100%."
Should Everton avoid the drop, Pickford's heroics against Chelsea will likely go down in club legend. But such is the fickleness of football, he realises it will be forgotten should they finish the season in the bottom three. His appreciation of the fine line between a legendary moment and a forgotten one stems from past experience - his late, flying save against Colombia in the 2018 World Cup overshadowed by England conceding from the resulting corner.
But Pickford is hopeful he can help lead the Blues to safety - and thereby cement his Chelsea performance in the club's history books.
He said: "It is nice, I might look back when I’m 50, 60 in 30 years' time... hopefully when we look back in five games, that has a bit of legacy on that. But my sole focus is on the next game and doing my best for the team - putting in team performances and being the best I can be."
