What Sean Dyche told Dominic Calvert-Lewin in private after Everton derby victory - 'I love that'

Sean Dyche has told Dominic Calvert-Lewin that consistency will see him return to the England fold after spearheading Everton’s Merseyside derby victory.

The Toffees earned a much-deserved 2-0 win over Liverpool and claimed a first Goodison Park triumph in the fixture since 2010. Calvert-Lewin shook off a knee issue to lead Everton’s attack and did it with aplomb.

He ran amok throughout the encounter, having a header saved before Jarrad Branthwaite opened the scoring in the 27th minute. Then Calvert-Lewin got his reward on 58 minutes when he powered home a header from a corner to confirm the success - and move Everton eight points above the Premier League relegation zone.

Calvert-Lewin was part of England’s squad for the European Championships in the summer of 2021. He had two injury-ravaged seasons after that and hasn’t quite fired on all cylinders for much of this term. But the ex-Sheffield United forward was at the peak of his powers against Liverpool’s defence of Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate. And Dyche believes that if Calvert-Lewin continues to perform like that, he’ll again be in contention for an international recall.

Dyche said: “First class. I told him afterwards: 'If you can get the consistency of that performance, it gets people talking around you and that's what gets you around that England team again because that's a first-class performance against top players, a top side'.

“The hold-up play, controlled aggression to his play, commitment to get hold of the ball and his finishing. I loved the one, Jarrad gets it in the end but he's sprinting on the line to toe it in. That's what you want from strikers, you want them to be hungry to score goals. That's a sign when he's on top and active, going in there on a maybe can he just get it over the line? I love that. Then his header to me is fantastic and a great set-piece as well.”

Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford was also in fine fettle as he made two big saves from Liverpool pair Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz in the first half. And Dyche heaped praise on Ashley Young, who came on at half-time after an injury to Vitalii Mykolenko.

“Particularly the first half,” Dyche said on Pickford’s performance. “Second half, he was just in control, good hands. First half, he made two very important saves. Rare breaches from our defence, I thought the defensive unit from the front to the back was excellent. The midfield's pressing and recovering, all the hard yards were intact. Youngy as well coming on, it was really tough, was excellent second half without a doubt.”