Postmortem: Final Word On Liverpool’s Dramatic Merseyside Derby Draw | OneFootball

Everton 2-2 Liverpool – The PL Postmortem

The atmosphere at Goodison Park was intense and exited before kick-off as the red and blue halves of Merseyside undertook their final encounter at the historic stadium. The game was ferocious and a draw was probably deserved for both clubs.

Below is how the team lined up, with match details following.

The Starting Eleven

GK – Alisson Becker

RB – Conor Bradley

RCB – Ibrahima Konaté

LCB – Virgil van Dijk (c)

LB – Andy Robertson

CM – Alexis Mac Allister

ACM – Dominik Szoboszlai

CM – Ryan Gravenberch

RF – Mohamed Salah

CF – Luis Díaz

LF – Cody Gakpo

Subs

Trent Alexander Arnold – Conor Bradley (60 mins)

Curtis Jones – Ryan Gravenberch (60 mins)

Darwin Núñez –  Cody Gakpo (70 mins)

Kostas Tsimikas – Andy Robertson (70 mins)

Diogo Jota – Luis Díaz (86 mins)

Goals (Assisted by)

Everton 1 – 0 Liverpool

Beto – (Jarrad Branthwaite ) 11 mins

Everton 1 – 1 Liverpool

Alexis Mac Allister – (Mohamed Salah) 16 mins

Everton 1 – 2 Liverpool

Mohamed Salah – 73 mins

Everton 2 – 2 Liverpool

James Tarkowski (Tim Iroegbunam) – 90+8 mins

Red Cards

Curtis Jones – Two Yellow Cards

Abdoulaye Doucouré – Two Yellow Cards

Arne Slot – Red Card

Important Match Stats

Possession

Everton 37% – 63% Liverpool

XG

Everton 0.98 – 0.65 Liverpool

Total Shots

Everton 10 – 6 Liverpool

Corner Kicks

Everton 2 – 3 Liverpool

Off Sides

Everton 3 – 2 Liverpool

Fouls

Everton 9 – 20 Liverpool

Goalkeeper Saves

Everton 2 – 1 Liverpool

The First Half

The Beginning of the Game

The match began at a ferocious pace and it was a questionable foul on the halfway line which created the opening goal. Jarrad Branthwaite played a delightful ball in behind from the dead ball and with a brilliant curling curling run to evade the Liverpool offside trap, Beto was able to get a run on goal and strike under the on-rushing Alisson Becker.

Just minutes later, the Reds were able to move the ball quickly and allow Mohamed Salah the space to deliver a pinpoint cross into a crowded penalty area. Alexis Mac Allister was able to glance a header into the far corner and the game was level. Without too much of a sense of footballing chaos engulfing Goodison Park throughout the first half, few chances were created as the game state lost the control that Liverpool craved. Dominik Szoboszlai had a good shot on goal late in the half which nearly rebounded to Luis Díaz within the six-yard box.

The first half ended with the game very much in the balance.

The Second Half

Liverpool began the second half without any changes to their starting eleven. Almost immediately the Toffees had a chance on goal which was blocked by Ibrahima Konaté. Moments later a brilliant-headed opportunity went wide of the post as Abdoulaye Doucouré misplaced his shot on goal.

As Everton looked to make a strong physical impression, two local lads were introduced on the hour by Arne Slot to bring some momentum back to his side. Everton then had a goal disallowed for offside. Another chance fell to the hosts which was fired over.

With Liverpool looking to get back into the game, Curtis Jomes was alert inside the Everton box to help create the goal for Mohamed Salah who scored from a tight angle. The visitors started to take control of the game and showed good character to stem the endeavour of the home side. Unfortunately for Liverpool, their fight back into a winning position was marred by a late goal by James Tarkowski, who fired into the roof of the net deep into stoppage time. There appeared to be a foul in the build-up, however, VAR was quick to dismiss that moment.

The match ended with a score of 2-2 and disappointment for the Reds.

Final Thoughts

This match was a crucial moment for Liverpool and created a seven-point gap with a superior goal difference over the chasing pack. The after-match sending off of Arne Slot and Curtis Jones was disappointing, with both likely to receive single-game bans

Next up is Wolves at Anfield, where they will aim to extend or so lift their lead at the top of the Premier League table.

Steven Smith’s Score Prediction;

Everton 1 – 2 Liverpool