A derby victory has become such a rarity for Everton that it’s a sign of real trouble for Liverpool when it appears. In the midst of an injury crisis, Liverpool lost their first derby in over a decade in February, extending a winless run against Everton to three matches, their last victory coming before the Covid-19 lockdown.
It seemed unlikely this would be repeated though. Along with Chelsea and Manchester City, Liverpool are pulling away at the top of the Premier League, whereas Everton were winless in their last seven games, their last victory coming against relegation stragglers Norwich in September. Everton usually find a way to lose the derby even if they come into the match in good form, so this looked like a disaster waiting to happen.
Jürgen Klopp made just one change to the side that thrashed Southampton at the weekend, replacing Ibrahima Konaté with Joël Matip in Liverpool’s usual 4-3-3 formation.
Rafa Benitez made two changes to the team that lost to Brentford, bringing in Richarlison and Demarai Gray for Alex Iwobi and Anthony Gordon as Everton switched to a 4-4-2 shape.
Liverpool started the game at a high tempo and Everton really struggled to match them. Within minutes of kick-off there was a defensive mix-up as Ben Godfrey failed to cut out a pass and Séamus Coleman lashed out at Jordan Pickford as the goalkeeper came out without claiming the ball, followed by a free header for Matip at a corner, then soon after slow passing saw them hand Liverpool possession in their defensive third.
One major issue for Everton was Gray’s failure to track back on the left. The winger would burst forward to provide a threat on the counter, but once Everton lost the ball he was very slow to retreat, meaning Allan was forced across to cover him. This was a particular problem against Liverpool due to their “flexible triangle“: with Trent Alexander-Arnold and Mohamed Salah joined by Jordan Henderson pulling wide to overlap down the right, Liverpool’s opponents are usually outnumbered in this area anyway, so the winger failing to track back only poses more of a headache.
The opening goal came from a similar issue on the opposite flank. Everton sought to counter, pushing Gray and Andros Townsend up to join Richarlison in attack, only for Andy Robertson to intercept the ball. Liverpool then looked to counter themselves, with Robertson bursting forward to help Sadio Mané down the left. Townsend made an effort to track back, but couldn’t catch up with the Scot, who pulled back the ball to Henderson waiting on the edge of the area to perfectly curl the ball around Allan flinging himself in front of the shot, inside the post with his weaker left foot. Jordan Pickford was struggling to see the shot with Allan blocking his view, however his wide stance meant he had to drag his right foot inside to start his jump, and the ball was already half-way towards goal before he could start his weak dive, failing to push properly off his right leg.
Liverpool soon doubled their lead on the counter. Everton pushed forward, with Abdoulaye Doucouré attacking the box to join the forwards for a Townsend cross but Liverpool headed it away. Allan and Godfrey attempted to counterpress but the latter’s touch was poor, enabling Thiago Alcântara to poke the ball into space for Henderson to zip a through ball in behind the Everton backline. Salah raced onto the pass, opened up his body and expertly found the inside of the net from a narrow angle.
Everton pressed high in an attempt to win back the ball, however Liverpool found it quite easy to play through this pressure. They often used a makeshift back three to play around the front two, with either a full-back staying back or a midfielder dropping back next to the centre-backs to stretch wider across the pitch.
Nevertheless, the Reds gave the ball away sloppily several times, allowing Everton to recover the ball high up the pitch.
The Blues pulled a goal back shortly before half-time. Following some back-and-forth at a throw-in, Allan tapped a good pass into Richarlison, as Everton were four-versus-four against Liverpool’s backline. With Salomon Rondon making a run in behind him, Virgil van Dijk was reluctant to follow Richarlison, allowing the Brazilian to turn and spray a pass into Gray with the outside of his boot. Matip had followed Rondon’s run and Alexander-Arnold was drawn high as Liverpool began an attack, meaning Gray was free to make a run down Matip’s blind side. Alisson Becker was perhaps a little quick to rush out, as Gray’s poor first touch had allowed Alexander-Arnold to recover, only for Gray to squeeze a quick shot under the Brazilian – although in fairness had Gray’s first touch been better, he would have been alone with Alisson and a closed off angle would have been better for the goalkeeper.
This wasn’t the first time this season Liverpool had been cruising to an easy victory only to put it in danger: they had done the same against AC Milan, Atlético Madrid and Brighton.
Although the atmosphere had shifted in favour of Everton, it was still Liverpool that looked likeliest to get the next goal. Everton had been consistently using Pickford’s kicking to go long towards the forwards, pushing the wingers up to join them, and trying to press the second balls in midfield. Their goal showed the benefit of this method, putting Gray in a position to score, although Liverpool’s opener had shown its weakness, pushing Gray and Townsend too high to be able to defend. It was generally this latter situation that was appearing throughout the match, with Liverpool recovering the ball and breaking forward into space.
Just as Everton appeared to be getting somewhere, winning a free-kick on the edge of Liverpool’s box from a second ball, Liverpool added another. Liverpool cleared a corner and Gray played the loose ball back towards Coleman. The Irishman took a poor touch under pressure from Salah though, the Egyptian robbing him of the ball and breaking forward. Coleman was unable to catch up with him, putting Salah through one-on-one with Pickford, whose wide stance again undercut any attempt he made to stop the shot, collapsing sideways rather than pushing to dive as the ball squirmed past his outstretched hand.
Diogo Jota added a superb fourth. Liverpool switched the ball from right to left, dragging Coleman out towards Robertson, and with Mané making a run in behind the full-back, Godfrey was pulled wide too, opening up a large gap for Jota through the middle. Robertson’s pass went behind Jota, requiring him to turn and stretch to meet it, but his first touch was excellent, playing it back into the direction of his initial run. Allan had expected Jota to hold up the ball with his back to goal, but Jota’s touch allowed him to continue his run, attack the space in behind and finish from a tight angle.
The game was now far beyond any doubt, putting an end to the derby respite Evertons fans have enjoyed over the last year and a half.
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