Liverpool continues their great run as they demolished their local rival Everton in the big Merseyside Derby clash. There is no better Football team than Liverpool at the moment, isn’t it?
The Reds started strong as they were close to taking the lead in the very early moments of the game. But it was in the 9th minute when Liverpool skipper Jordan Henderson slotted past goalie Pickford to open the scoring. A beautifully controlled finish by the captain from the edge of the penalty box.
In the 19th minute, Liverpool made it 2-0 after a great through ball from captain Henderson to set Salah. It was that moment when some Everton fans had enough and knew the outcome of the game and started leaving the stadium.
Klopp men continuously pushed for the third goal but it was the Toffees who scored their first goal. Summer signing Demaray Gray slotted past Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson to bring the slightest of hope for the home fans.
Everton actually looked good and improved after Gray’s goal. The Toffees enjoyed some good moments and went into the break with the hope of turning the game around.
But Liverpool’s Salah had other ideas as he capitalized on Everton skipper Coleman’s awful first touch to steal the ball and ran alone and scored the third goal and his second.
The moment when Salah stole the ball and ran it was like ‘catch me if you can’
With Liverpool leading with 2 goals up, Diogo Jota made it 4-1 with a wonder strike in the 79th minute.
Liverpool were in a different class to Everton. The Reds had too much quality and firepower to outclass Everton and clearly made a statement victory.
Liverpool were clearly the better side in Merseyside battle and also too hot to handle.
Key numbers from the game
For the first time since a 5-0 win against Everton in November 1982 under Bob Paisley, Liverpool scored four goals in Everton’s home.
Everton boss Rafa Benitez attended his 15th Merseyside Derby but first time as an Everton manager.
Since the start of the season, Everton has lost 12 games in the competition levelling with Leicester City. No other Premier League side has lost more at home.
The Reds have set the all-time record for scoring 2+ goals for 18 consecutive games.
Liverpool broke the 94-year-old English goal-scoring record which previously saw Sunderland score 2 or more for 17 consecutive games in 1927.
Liverpool’s goal tally after Everton’s win takes them to 43 goals in 14 games. It is their most scored at this stage for the first time since League season 1895-96 (48 goals).
Everton vs Liverpool: Post match reactions
Klopp’s take on Liverpool’s performance
It was, for sure, the best performance we’ve shown since I’m at Liverpool at Goodison. We had some good games here, but we were never as good as tonight. We were never as calm as tonight, we were never as convinced as tonight and that’s why we won the game and I am really happy about that.
When asked about Salah’s outstanding display
Not only him, but of course him as well. Scoring these two goals, the first one was a pass from Hendo and the next one, he put Coleman under pressure.
The performance of all of the boys was absolutely outstanding.
Klopp speaks about Henderson’s performance
Hendo was good but with his skillset you should be good. When you can train, when you can play, when you get rhythm and then you have the quality of Hendo, then you will play good football games. Tonight, I think it was for him as well the best performance at Goodison.
Klopp speaks about why he thinks it’s a ‘step forward for his side
The two derbies for us against Everton and United are big games and you have to learn to keep yourself calm and together, if you want, to play your best football.
To be 100 per cent honest, when I look back there was not one derby at Goodison where I thought, ‘Wow, that was a great game, nearly perfect’, so there is a lot of space for improvement. I wanted us today to be really mature and, yes, very aggressive but in a football way, angry as well but in a football way.
So in the situation when you can get balls back, when you have counter-pressing situations, you cannot do that without a bit of anger and a bit of greed and all these kind of things, so you need that. But then there are moments when you just have to move and pass the ball around their formation or through their formation, and for that you need a different mindset – and that’s what we had tonight.
What’s next for Liverpool?
Liverpool will travel to Molineux to face Wolves at the weekend. Bruno Lage’s side are currently 6th in the Premier League table and have lost just once in their last nine games.
Liverpool against Wolves is always a tricky fixture but a routine win is expected from the red hot Reds.
