Liverpool somehow managed to snatch a late 1-0 win over Everton in a fiercely contested Merseyside derby at Goodison Park on Monday night. The match looked set to be heading towards a goalless draw before Sadio Mane scored a very late winner. It was Daniel Sturridge who pulled off some late magic to hand Liverpool all three points which took them to the second position, 6 points behind league leaders Chelsea.
With the win, Liverpool kept their good recent record in the Merseyside Derby. They stay unbeaten against the Toffees since 2010. It was a closely contested game and Everton were impressive in the first half and defended well too but Liverpool’s quality managed to see him through. Here are three talking points from the game.
Klavan Impressive Once Again
Ragnar Klavan had a flawless display in the Merseyside derby. He was impressive in Joel Matip’s absence against Boro and it was yet another standout display from the Estonian skipper. The Estonian captain had a very good game in the defence and kept Romelu Lukaku quiet and ensured that Everton failed to convert their period of dominance in the first half into a goal.
The Estonian registered a passing accuracy of 88% and won all his tackles. He made 7 clearances, 3 interceptions and one brilliant block to deny Lukaku.
Barkley lucky to survive
Ross Barkley was booked for a late challenge on Jordan Henderson, but replays showed that the Everton player was lucky to not be sent off for the foul, which could have resulted in a serious injury to the Liverpool captain. It was astonishing to see the Liverpool skipper surviving such a challenge as the replays are pretty cringe-worth.
With Sergio Aguero and Jamie Vardy seeing red and Marcos Rojo escaping the penalty for similar challenges in recent times, the debate on refereeing decisions will come under scrutiny.
Daniel Sturridge shows his quality
Liverpool were struggling to find their way past a stubborn Everton side and badly needed something special to win the game. Daniel Sturridge provided that extra bit of quality off the bench.
The English international received the ball on the right flank and in trademark fashion, got a shot away by cutting in. Robles wasn’t steady and failed to reach the shot which rebounded off the post and fell nicely for Mane to tap in.
Once again, Daniel Sturridge showed his quality and proved that Liverpool need him to keep their title challenge on.
