SO WORTH THE WAITE!
Jarrad goal sets Everton on way to first home derby win for 14 years and shatters Reds title hopes
JURGEN KLOPP said he will not miss the Merseyside derby when he walks away from Liverpool this summer.
This one will certainly be one to forget for the departing Reds manager because just his second defeat in 19 meetings with Everton could be the one which costs him a fairytale farewell.
Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-lewin scored to fire the Toffees one win from safety, with the added bonus of putting a serious dent in their Mersey rivals’ title hopes.
The Liverpool boss was serenaded with ‘You lost the league at Goodison Park’ in the dying moments.
Klopp’s side now realistically need two slip-ups from Arsenal and Manchester City to win a 20th league crown but games are running out.
And given the poverty of this performance, who is to say they will go unbeaten themselves. Everton outfought and outworked them almost everywhere on the pitch.
They targeted them at setpieces and they got their reward with a deserved win.
Everton are in the battle to stay up so you would expect such a fight but Liverpool, going for the title, should have been more up for a scrap.
Instead, they suffered their first defeat here since 2010. The scorer of the second that night for Everton? Mikel Arteta. The Arsenal manager will have enjoyed this one as much if he was tuning in.
Toffees boss Sean Dyche should have started wearing a tracksuit ages ago. It is two wins in two since he ditched his suits. This was the final Merseyside derby Klopp did not want. It was frantic and foul-filled, most of them from his side in the first half-hour.
It was the eighth one, and the sixth near the area, which gave Everton a deserved lead in the 27th minute.
Reds keeper Alisson dealt poorly with a low strike from
Branthwaite as he scampered across goal and it squeezed in off the post.
Alisson had earlier denied Calvert-lewin from a header with a parried stop but he was poor for that one.
Liverpool had chances at the end of the half but Jordan Pickford thwarted Darwin Nunez twice and Mo Salah, once again anonymous, scooped a good chance over.
Klopp had
never suffered defeat here before last night. He had lost only one derby in his stay at Liverpool before this and that was in front of no fans when veteran Italian Carlo Ancelotti was in charge of the Blues.
Everton knew a third win in three games would move them eight clear of the bottom three with four games to go. Liverpool knew defeat would almost spell the end of their title hopes.
So the second in the 58th minute had huge ramifications at both ends of the table.
Dwight Mcneil tested Alisson with a long-range effort that the Brazilian had to push over. From the resulting corner from the man who won it, Calvertlewin, rose highest at the back post and headed in amid awful defending from Liverpool.
Goodison Park could not settle despite the lead. Luis Diaz hit the post for the Reds but a raft of changes from Klopp could not inspire a comeback.
One of those subs, Harvey Elliott, tried a long-range effort but the brilliant Pickford tipped it over and finally the Toffees fans could enjoy a home win in the Merseyside derby for the first time in 14 years. Blues hero Pickford said: “It was a massive win for us. It was a great team effort and we got a clean sheet. Calvert-lewin said: “Everything came together for us and the atmosphere was electric.” EVERTON: Pickford 8, Godfrey 8, Tarkowski 7, Branthwaite 8, Mykolenko 6 (Young 46, 6), Harrison 7, Gueye 8 (Onana 75, 7), Garner 7, Mcneil 7, Doucoure 6, MOTM Calvert-lewin 8
(Chermiti 90)
LIVERPOOL: Alisson 5, Alexanderarnold 5 (Gomez 84), Konate 4 (Quansah 63, 6), Van Dijk 5, Robertson 6 (Tsimikas 84), Szoboszlai 5 (Endo 63, 6), Mac Allister 6, Jones 5 (Elliott 63, 6), Salah 5, Nunez 4, Diaz 7