LONDON • Everton manager Marco Silva felt his side had the better of the chances and could have snatched all three points, despite the "harsh" sending-off of defender Phil Jagielka as promoted Wolverhampton Wanderers secured a 2-2 draw at Molineux on Saturday.
Wolves, who were playing their first Premier League match since 2012, needed an 80th-minute equaliser from Mexico forward Raul Jimenez after Everton's new signing Richarlison scored twice on his Premier League debut for the club.
The Brazilian forward, who moved from Watford to Everton for £40 million (S$70 million) last month, slotted home from close range in the 17th minute. But the turning point of the match came in the 40th minute when the away side were reduced to 10 men after Jagielka was red-carded for a foul on Diogo Jota.
Five minutes later, Wolves drew level thanks to a superbly executed free kick from Ruben Neves. But the Toffees held firm and Richarlison struck again in the 67th minute with a delightful finish that looked to have won the game, until Jimenez's header from a Neves cross 10 minutes from the end.
Silva, who took over from former England manager Sam Allardyce at the end of May, bemoaned referee Craig Pawson's decision.
" It looks a harsh decision. It looks like there's no foul, then there's a red card for us and, after that, they score," he said.
"With 10 men, you need to organise the team in a different way. We displayed very good organisation in the second half. At the end, you know they will have more time on the ball - that's normal with 11 against 10 - but we had the best chance to score more goals."
More than a few eyebrows were raised after Richarlison's move, but the 21-year-old showed exactly why he is rated so highly and Silva defended his big-money price tag.
"For me, the figure is not important and it is not important talking about it every time. If a club pays that money, it is because that is his value in the market and it's not only our club paying this money for one player," he added.
"Of course, it's a fantastic start for him. He is a boy I took last season from Brazil (to Vicarage Road) and we did everything to bring him to this club too. It's a fantastic start, with fantastic work and fantastic behaviour and, with his talent, in some moments, he can score."
The other standout player on the pitch was another 21-year-old in Neves, who was purchased for £15.6 million from Porto last summer, and is already the fulcrum of the team built by Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo.
"Ruben has this kind of talent... He came last season and adapted well to English football, but this is a player who was captain of a big club when he was 17," said Santo.
REUTERS, THE GUARDIAN
