Rushing to glory
IAN’S TWO- MINUTE BLAST
IT WAS September 1989 when Everton last went into a Merseyside derby as the league leaders.
And Ian Rush, the man who starred that day, remembers it as a pivotal game in what proved a title- winning season – for Liverpool.
“It sounds a bit dramatic to say it now, but honestly, in the team talk before the game, we all agreed it really was a must- win for us,” said the former Wales striker.
“We knew if we let them get away even a little, then it would be incredibly hard to bring them back. It was about momentum – and we knew we had to stop theirs.”
Back then, the two Merseyside clubs had won eight of the previous 10 Division One titles.
And with two swift blows in that huge derby contest – in the space of two decisive minutes – Rush swung the balance firmly back towards Liverpool, as they strode on to win the title again.
“We were the two best teams in Europe for a lot of that decade, and, really, it was probably the biggest game in Europe at that time,” said Rush.
“They went ahead and my two goals in such a short space of time really demoralised them.”
Rush still holds the record for most goals in the Mersey derby, with 25, and people forget that he scored them against one of the best teams around at the time.
That season was the swansong for both teams in the city. Liverpool won the title but then had a 30- year wait for the next, while
Everton eventually slipped to sixth, sixth on their way out of the top echelons of the game.
Now, though, with Carlo Ancelotti at the helm, they are back at the top as they search for a first derby win in 10 years.
But Rush predicted the Italian could be a hit on Merseyside when the two met a couple of years ago for a Liverpool legends game against AC Milan in front of a sell- out Anfield crowd.
“Everton have done brilliantly to get such a top- class manager, but I wasn’t surprised,” added Rush. “In that game he said he couldn’t believe it was a sell- out.
“These top managers don’t go into clubs blind, they learn about the club and the passion there. That’s why he came.”