ClapLiverpool and Everton went toe to toe last night in the Merseyside derby, in a game that few were expecting to be competitive. While the scoreline would suggest that there was at least some form of doubt over the result, in the end, it felt like Liverpool were never in any major danger as they defeated their local rivals 5-2 at Anfield.
As reported by BBC and The Guardian, it just felt like nobody could touch them for large portions of the game.
Opposite of a smash & grab
It was a really fast start to the game for Liverpool who found themselves 2-0 up within 17 minutes courtesy of goals from Divock Origi and Xherdan Shaqiri. Michael Keane pulled one back to give the visitors hope, before Origi scored his second of the game and Mane added a fourth to really put Everton on the back foot.
Richarlison pulled one back just before half time but in the second half, it just felt like both sides were going through the motions. Gini Wijnaldum gave fans a chance to sing his famous song in the last few minutes in the game, scoring a fifth to rubber stamp a huge result for his side.
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp couldn’t say enough good things about the way in which the game panned out.
“All the goals were incredible, outstanding. Wonderful goals, sensational passes, super pieces of football. I loved it a lot!
“We needed fresh legs and I had to show my respect to the boys in the squad, that’s all. They proved it. It is much more fun making changes, all of the boys are ready to deliver performances like this.
Mistakes were made
“It was a massive moment in my first season when Divock Origi got injured in the derby. It changed his career for a bit.”
Everton boss Marco Silva, on the other hand, almost seems to have accepted his inevitable fate as calls for his sacking continue to grow.
“We cannot concede goals in the way we conceded. We knew everything about them before the match and how they like to play whether with Origi, Salah or Firmino, we know how they would play. There was a lot of mistakes.
“I am not the right person to answer about the situation, this question is for different people. We are making some mistakes which put us under big, big pressure. The type of mistakes we are making is because the players are playing under big pressure because of the position in the table.”
Regardless of whether or not he goes, this was a really monumental moment in the season of both teams. As we enter a brand new decade these two sides are further apart than they’ve ever been in terms of quality, and it’s tough to see when they’ll be battling it out at the top of the table with each other again.
You never know when that could become a possibility in this crazy game, but for now, we’ll have to wait and see.
