Everton’s Tom Davies nearly sinks rusty Liverpool in derby draw
The 236th Merseyside derby was played out to the sound of a saxophonist playing Liam Gallagher’s Once near St
Luke’s church on Goodison Road. A surreal end to a surreal occasion; one that tested the patience of both clubs before, during and after.
For Everton the wait for a first derby victory in 10 years goes on. It would have been over had Tom Davies’s shot not struck the inside of a post in the 80th minute but it is 22 derbies and counting without a win in this fixture for the royal blue half of Merseyside.
Far grander achievements await
Liverpool but, should Manchester City take maximum points against Burnley and Chelsea, their coronation as Premier League champions will not come this week. When you have waited 30 years plus another three months due to a global pandemic-induced lockdown, what’s another few days?
Jürgen Klopp became the first manager in Liverpool’s history to avoid
defeat in 11 derbies from the start of his reign and moved one point closer to the title. The giant step was not forthcoming, however.
Liverpool dominated possession but lacked their usual finesse in the final third. They also came up against an impressive defensive display from Everton, who, in organisation, discipline and defiance, showed the benefits of unexpected time on the training ground with Carlo Ancelotti. The hosts created a flurry of late chances to steal victory but were denied by Alisson and the woodwork while becoming only the third team to take Premier League points off the champions-elect this season.
The third successive goalless stalemate in the Goodison derby was an arduous watch at times, although that was no great surprise given the circumstances. Four mounted police officers patrolled an eerily quiet Stanley Park before kick-off. Liverpool city centre was deserted, as were the streets of Liverpool 4, and when the players arrived – Everton in their cars, Liverpool on team buses – only a handful of onlookers were there to greet them. Kids, mostly. So much for the need to switch this fixture to a neutral venue, a suggestion made by the UK’s national football police chief, Mark Roberts, and resisted throughout a lengthy process by both clubs, with support from Merseyside police. The police tweeted thanks to both sets of supporters for keeping away. “A credit to both your clubs and our city,” it read.
There were switches in personnel. Slight knocks ruled out Andy Robertson and restricted Mohamed Salah to the Liverpool bench. The January signing Takumi Minamino started for the first time in the Premier League in place of the Egypt international. For Everton, hit by a procession of injuries since the return to training, the 19-yearold academy forward Anthony Gordon was handed a full debut and the task of limiting Trent Alexander-Arnold’s influence down Liverpool’s right. No easy feat. The teenager and the Japan international were both substituted, having been on the contest’s margins.
The absence of a partisan crowd did not diminish the intensity or needle of a derby in the early stages. Fabinho escaped an early booking for a clumsy foul on Dominic Calvert-Lewin and James Milner collected the first yellow card for scything down Richarlison. The heated exchanges that followed, with Klopp and Mason Holgate to the fore, were clearly audible and entertaining.
Rust was inevitable after three months without competitive football and showed in Fabinho’s early touches. A loose header from Liverpool’s holding midfielder presented his compatriot Richarlison with the first opportunity of the game. Everton’s Brazilian forward, driving in from the left, shot hard and low across Alisson but his effort flashed wide.
Joël Matip had the best chance of an uneventful first half and should have done better than to head AlexanderArnold’s free-kick wide. Roberto Firmino found the same spot as Matip when André Gomes was dispossessed in midfield and Liverpool almost exposed Everton on the counter attack. Sadio Mané teed up the Brazilian with a delightful back-heel but the shot was scuffed wide.
Everton defenders showed confidence and composure to play through and around the Liverpool press. Other than Richarlison’s early chance, however, the hosts rarely retained possession long enough to trouble Alisson until the closing stages. Ancelotti’s side made a number of unforced errors, with Alex Iwobi the chief culprit, while Liverpool controlled possession without finding a cutting edge. Milner departed with a suspected hamstring problem towards the end of the first half and Matip also hobbled off injured before the end.
Liverpool’s pressure built gradually in the second half but, with Séamus Coleman to the fore, Everton stood firm. Ancelotti’s side could and should have prospered on the counterattack as fatigue told late on. Richarlison blazed over when sent through by Calvert-Lewin’s deft lob.
With 10 minutes remaining Everton thought they had nicked victory. Richarlison escaped down the left after good work by Gomes and centred for Calvert-Lewin, who forced Alisson into a full-length save with an improvised flick of his left heel. The rebound fell invitingly for Davies. Derby glory beckoned, Alisson was beaten, but his shot took the slightest of touches off Joe Gomez, struck the inside of the far post and was hacked out for a corner by a relieved Liverpool defence. CalvertLewin headed the subsequent corner wide while the saxophone struck up Baker Street outside.