Everton’s derby drought at Liverpool ends
The loss follows defeats at Anfield by Burnley, Brighton & Hove Albion, and Manchester City and was Everton’s first win at Anfield since 1999.
Liverpool’s 23-game unbeaten run in the Merseyside derby ended courtesy of incisive contributions from Richarlison, who gave Everton an early lead and was instrumental in the 83rd-minute penalty that sealed the win, but mainly an outstanding performance from Carlo Ancelotti’s defense. Jordan Pickford; pilloried after October’s controversial encounter at Goodison Park; was unbeatable while the five-man rearguard in front of him; aided and abetted by the tireless Tom Davies and Abdoulaye Doucouré; were faultless throughout.
“They’re a shadow of a team. When you think about what Liverpool have been for three years; a team that no one wants to play against; a team that was always on the front foot; super-aggressive, must have been horrible to play against them,” said Souness, now a pundit with Sky Sports.
The visitors were finding it almost impossible to escape the Liverpool press but were handed a glorious opportunity to seal victory; when Richarlison spun away from Phillips and found substitute Dominic Calvert-Lewin inside the area. The striker took his shot the first time; Alisson saved brilliantly low to his left, but as he closed in on the follow-up Calvert-Lewin was impeded by Alexander-Arnold. The referee; Chris Kavanagh; had no hesitation in pointing to the spot or confirming his decision after being asked to check the pitch-side monitor by VAR.
Liverpool is in sixth place, 16 points behind leaders Manchester City and now faces a battle to even make the top four and qualify for next year’s Champions League.
