Jordan Pickford was unable to use the penalty notes on his water bottle as Everton slipped to defeat at Anfield on Monday night.
Pickford's team had drawn with Liverpool in the reverse fixture, but this time it was one-way traffic once Jurgen Klopp's side had taken the lead. Mohamed Salah opened the scoring on the counter-attack after James Tarkowski had hit the post for the visitors, with Cody Gakpo sealing a 2-0 home win with his first ever Premier League goal.
England keeper Pickford had a late coming-together with opponent Andy Robertson, with both players going into referee Simon Hooper's book for their part in the incident. The penalty notes went unused, though, with Klopp's team making it four straight games without defeat against their neighbours.
Liverpool's choice of penalty taker can change depending on which of their stars are on the pitch at any given time. With this in mind, Pickford had notes for regular takers Salah and Milner as well as recent signings Gakpo and Darwin Nunez, who took spot-kicks for their previous clubs.
The notes, stuck to the bottle, pointed out which side the quartet opted for most often. All four have gone to the keeper's left more often than to their right, though there is much more variation in Salah's case than the others.
Pickford also had information on other things to keep in mind, including recommendations to 'check run up' for both Salah and Milner and to 'wait right' if Nunez was put on penalty duties.
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The Everton goalkeeper was criticised by some for his part in the opener, as he appeared to misjudge Salah's run onto a Nunez cross and allow the Egyptian an open goal. Later on, though, the clash between Pickford and Robertson took centre-stage.
The pair quickly defused their confrontation with laughter, though the coming together prompted substitutes to leave the sidelines and get involved. Ultimately, referee Hooper decided a yellow card for both players was the appropriate punishment.
The score was already 2-0 by that point, after Conor Coady left a cross from the Liverpool right and allowed Gakpo to tap home at the back post. "The cross had a little bit of a deflection so it’s hit more towards Picks [Pickford] and I was hoping nobody was gonna be there at the back because if I touch it I’ll slide and I think it’s going in my own net," the centre-back said.
“It’s one of them the counter attack was given away and when you’re put into that situation it’s a tough one to make a decision in that split moment. We’re gutted by it, we’re gutted by everything.”
