Everton cat: Game held up for pitch invader as Wolves win

The cat showed a genuine turn of pace to sprint across the Gwladys Street End of Goodison Park

Black cats are meant to be good luck - right?

Well, try telling that to Everton, whose home Premier League defeat by Wolves was held up for several minutes by a feline pitch invader at Goodison Park.

Final Score reporter John Acres filled nearly two minutes of prime-time television with his superb commentary of the cat's movement across the Wolves penalty area, including the descriptive "it looks like a fully grown... cat. He drops a shoulder, jinks one way, goes another" and "the steward's after the cat, but the cat knows it and puts in a turn of pace..."

Eventually play was able to resume - with referee Lee Mason adding seven minutes of injury time at the end of the game.

Seven years ago - almost to the day - a game across Stanley Park at Liverpool's Anfield ground was disrupted by another cat. What is it about felines in February on Merseyside?

Despite his side's fine win, Wolves boss Nuno Espirito Santo was not happy with the four-legged interloper. For, although in the UK black cats are often associated with bringing good fortune, across most of Europe it's traditionally been the opposite.

Quite why play needed to be stopped for this intrusion is another question...

"Where I come from in Portugal, the black cat is bad luck so I never want to see cats again," the Wolves boss explained.

Can you just clarify Nuno? "I don't like black cats."

Thanks. Still it could be worse for Everton - last year Turkish side Besiktas were fined by Uefa after a cat invaded their Champions League game against Bayern Munich.

The cat was voted 'man' of the match by Bayern fans.

Draft him in? The 'Goodison Cat' has been jokingly priced at £6.5m on Fantasy Premier League's twitter account

Wolves' Twitter account opted for some low-level puns

We contacted Opta but they could not provide us with a heat map

Even the mayor of Liverpool weighed in...