Liverpool faced off against Everton in the Merseyside derby earlier today hoping to pick up maximum points at Goodison Park. The Reds made a dream start to the game and took the lead in the third minute courtesy of Sadio Mane’s goal. However, the Toffees drew level just 16 minutes later via Michael Keane’s header from close range. Both sides went into the half-time break with nothing to split them.
Jurgen Klopp’s men were the more dominant team in the second 45 minutes and finally managed to get their lead back in the 72nd minute when Mohamed Salah found the back of the net with a stunning finish. However, the Blues of Merseyside refused to give up and scored the equaliser via Dominic Calvert-Lewin’s header just nine minutes later. Jordan Henderson thought that he won the derby for Liverpool in injury-time but was denied because of VAR. The contest ended with both teams from Merseyside playing out a 2-2 draw and sharing the points.
Let’s take a look at how each Liverpool player fared during the contest versus the Toffees.
GK: Adrian – 5/10
The Spaniard looked nervy in goal and could have done better to prevent Keane’s goal. However, he made a couple of solid saves in the second half but was well-beaten by Calvert-Lewin’s header.
RB: Trent Alexander-Arnold – 5/10
The English right-back is not playing his best football at the moment, and it showed in his performance today. He was too slow in defence and lacked the cutting edge with his passes in the attacking third.
CB: Joel Matip – 7/10
The Cameroonian defender won a lot of headers and was calm when in possession of the ball. He also tested Jordan Pickford with a powerful header in the second half.
CB: Virgil Van Dijk – 6/10
The Dutch international bossed the game before going down with a nasty injury after being rugby-tackled by Pickford.
LB: Andrew Robertson – 7/10
The Scottish left-back made some marauding runs down the left flank and has got an assist to show for his efforts. However, he was bullied by Calvert-Lewin in the lead-up to Everton’s equaliser in the second half.
CM: Jordan Henderson – 8/10
The Liverpool captain was full of energy and running in midfield and showed great leadership throughout the 90 minutes. He was so unlucky to be denied a winning goal in the derby by VAR.
CM: Fabinho – 8/10
The Brazilian midfield ace helped Liverpool win the midfield battle and won possession back quite a few times for his side.
CM: Thiago Alcantara – 9/10
The Spaniard was by far the best player in midfield as he bossed the game with his one-touch passing and mazy runs in the opposition half. He is clearly proving why Klopp decided to recruit him earlier this summer.
RW: Mohamed Salah – 8/10
The Egyptian wing wizard played some neat one-twos with his teammates but squandered a couple of decent chances in the first half. However, he finally got his name on the scoresheet with a powerful finish from close range.
ST: Roberto Firmino – 5.5/10
The Brazilian led the press well and was far from his best during the game. He ran out of gas and got replaced in the second half.
LW: Sadio Mane – 8.5/10
The Senegalese speedster gave the Reds a dream start with his early goal and was a constant menace for the Everton defenders. He caused all sorts of chaos in the final third but should have been more clinical in front of goal.
Substitutes:
CB: Joe Gomez – 6/10
The English centre-back didn’t let the occasion get to him and put in an assured display in the second half.
LW: Diogo Jota – 6/10
The Portuguese winger made a couple of good runs but failed to do any damage up top.
CM: Gini Wijnaldum – N/A
He hardly had any time to make an impact.
