Everton hosted Wolverhampton in what could be described as a mid-table six-pointer if anyone cared about positioning in mid table (no one does). Wolves cruised to a 3-1 win as Raúl Jiménez scored his ninth goal of the season. Meanwhile the best player for the Toffees was an evasive Everton cat.
Rúben Neves converted a seventh-minute penalty, Jiménez headed home just before halftime and Leander Dendoncker finished the match with a follow-up volley in the 66th minute as Wolves moved comfortably into seventh place, five points ahead of Everton.
#LigaPremierTD ¿Te lo perdiste? Acá el gol de @Raul_Jimenez9 con el cual @Wolves vence al @Everton pic.twitter.com/HudXsDeosQ
— Telemundo Deportes (@TelemundoSports) February 2, 2019
Despite a great 27th-minute goal from André Gomes, Everton was unable to keep up with Wolverhampton. After Dendoncker’s goal made it 3-1, none of Everton’s players stepped up to change the game.
But a cat did.
With Everton having just gone down by two goals — the Toffees haven’t earned any points this season after going down by two goals or more — this cat found its way onto the pitch to give the home side a chance to regroup.
The little guy (or girl) pranced around (probably scared out of its mind), evading all efforts to catch it, giving Everton players more than two minutes to talk about how they’d turn the match around (in the cutest way imaginable).
THERE'S A CAT ON THE PITCH AND HE DOES NOT WANT TO LEAVE pic.twitter.com/K0YNNMU522
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) February 2, 2019
At least one Evertonian showed some obstinacy in the face of Wolves.
Note how none of the players even bother trying to catch the cat — even the Goodison Park stewards were uninterested in embarrassing themselves in an exercise as futile as trying to stop Lionel Messi from dribbling past you.
Eventually, the cat does what the cat wants, exiting under its own volition in one corner of the pitch to large cheers from the home crowd.
Because of the delay, seven minutes of stoppage time were added at the end of the match, giving Everton every chance to mount a comeback.
It didn’t. But at leas the cat has some new fans.
Floyd and Clifford have never been so interested in #MyPLMorning pic.twitter.com/K8BLZE8TTg
— Breoncé (@brecollier) February 2, 2019
If only the Everton cat had been a possum, things might have been different.