A tense derby clash between the two Merseyside rivals ended in a 2-2 draw at Goodison Park, with only VAR disallowing the visitors a narrow win late into stoppage time, with Jordan Henderson’s goal being denied due to an offside decision being flagged against Sadio Mane’s outstretched arm.
TEAM NEWS
Liverpool FC made a number of key changes to the starting XI that took the field at Goodison, and Jurgen Klopp awarded a first start for his Anfield career to Thiago Alcantara, meaning Gini Wijnaldum and Naby Keita were relegated to the bench to make way for the Spaniard and the returning Jordan Henderson.
MATCH REPORT
Just two minutes had gone by on the clock when a brilliant play down the left flank by Andy Robertson led to the full-back’s delivery into the box finding the lurking Sadio Mane, whose pinpoint attempt at Jordan Pickford’s goal was enough to give an early and much-needed advantage to Jurgen Klopp’s men.
However, minutes following Mane’s opening goal against the Toffees, an off-the-ball challenge on Virgil van Dijk by Pickford in the Everton box proved to be too much for the Dutchman to shake off and meant that the commanding centre-back had to be taken off the pitch, with the benched Joe Gomez taking his fellow defender’s spot.
Despite a few good chances falling the visitor’s way, it was Everton who were successful in levelling the scoreline, as the absence of Van Dijk on the pitch turned out to be a boon for Carlo Ancelotti’s side from set-piece deliveries.
A brilliant corner routine by the in-form James Rodriguez was headed in by Michael Keane past Adrian, the under-fire Spanish goalkeeper who could have done much more to prevent the centre-back’s effort on goal.
It was Trent Alexander Arnold who came close to putting his side in the lead once again, but his curving free-kick attempt was saved in wonderful fashion by Pickford, whose reach on the thunderous effort proved to be quite flawless.
Couple more opportunities to trouble the Everton goalie were awarded to the Reds, however, Roberto Firmino’s goalless streak of late continued, as the Brazillian forward was unable to find the back of the net, despite being a handful to deal with for the host’s backline.
With the score still 1-1 at the end of the opening 45 minutes at Goodison Park, Klopp’s men certainly had a major task to pull off and bag three points on their travel to their city-rivals, especially after the resounding Aston Villa loss prior to the international break.
Jordan Henderson was a star turn for his side all throughout the game, and it was the Liverpool FC skipper whose link-up play allowed the Merseyside Reds to leap forward across the pitch, despite Pickford being a major presence between the sticks for Everton.
A sumptuous ball from the right-hand side by James Rodriguez nearly put Everton ahead, with Richarlison’s leap on the Columbian’s delivery striking the crossbar before being eventually cleared by the Liverpool FC defenders.
It was Rodriguez again who forced a low diving save from Adrian, and it was then that Liverpool FC began to pile up on the pressure once again on the hosts, and soon got their reward courtesy to a moment of solo magic from Mohammad Salah.
Henderson’s cross from the edge of the box was cleared in a rather unspectacular manner by Yerry Mina, and Salah pounced upon the opportunity, volleying his effort past Pickford into the bottom corner of the net to put the Champions of England ahead in the Merseyside showdown.
Arnold’s corner kick was headed by Joel Matip to trouble Pickford yet again, but the England No.1 stood his ground with another great save to prevent the Reds from going two ahead.
Everton found a way back into the game, when a Lucas Digne cross made Calvert-Lewin perform a fantastic jumping effort to head the ball past Adrian to level the score 2-2, and just eight minutes of normal time still to play for.
Thiago Alcantara’s wonderous pass led to Jordan Henderson scoring the third goal for Liverpool FC in the third minute of the stipulated five minutes of stoppage time, but following a lengthy and a heated VAR check, the goal was disallowed to the utter dismay of the Reds, with Sadio Mane being adjudged offside in the buildup to Henderson’s strike.
A red card was shown to the Everton attacker Richarlison following his clumsy tackle on Thiago Alcantara, leaving the Toffees with only 10 men on the pitch for the last five or so minutes.
The final whistle soon blew, marking the end of an exciting yet anxious 90 minutes for both sets of supporters, as Liverpool FC get ready to kick-off their Champions League campaign early next week with a trip to Amsterdam for an enthralling contest with Ajax.
