Fourmiddable- Liverpool Thrash Everton

Last night, one of the most eagerly anticipated fixtures of Liverpool’s season was played out. It’s always a good occasion when the reds take on their local rivals, but in recent times it hasn’t got quite as sweet as this. Liverpool dominated throughout the game against a limp-looking Everton side, and came out 4-0 victors!

Liverpool started brightly. Both sides looked very much up for it right from the outset, as is nearly always the case in the derby. Nobody had very much time on the ball, and the game was consequently extremely fast-paced. It was Liverpool who took the lead from a corner on 21 minutes. The captain, Steven Gerrard, headed the ball powerfully into the back of the net from a Luis Suarez delivery. Though the header was excellent, James McCarthy (who was stationed on the near post) should have done better at getting the ball away. From here on in, the win never really looked in doubt. The threat which Everton had initially posed rapidly faded away, and in their desperation to launch some decent attacks their defence fell apart. Daniel Sturridge capitalised fully on this, with goals on 33 and 35 minutes to put the reds out of sight. The first was simple but classy- Sturridge ran through a huge gap left in the Everton defence and was picked out beautifully by Coutinho (who, incidentally, had an extremely good game). He then slotted very coolly past Howard. His second goal was sublime- again he found himself clean through, this time after getting on the end of a long clearance from Kolo Toure. Tim Howard charged out to meet him, but could only watch helplessly as the ball flew over his head and dropped perfectly into the net.

The second half only saw one more goal, but it could have been a lot more. In many ways, Everton can be thankful that they only let in four! Suarez managed to get on the score-sheet, getting to the ball in front of Jagielka and, somewhat inevitably, beating Howard in the one-on-one. Soon after this Liverpool won a penalty, after Howard came out and took the man instead of the ball. Sturridge, on a hat-trick, stepped up to take it. Unfortunately he blasted it over the bar- he looked absolutely devastated, but the fact that we were already four up must have been of some consolation! Still, it was good to see how gutted he was; it points towards the hunger for goals he has that has seen him rise to 3^rd top scorer this season despite missing many games through injury. The miss seemed to knock his judgement- later on, determined to get his hat-trick, he went for goal and put it over rather than playing a square ball to Suarez for a simple tap-in. Rodgers subsequently subbed him, much to his displeasure. On the whole though this mini-saga didn’t cast much of a shadow over the result: a 4-0 win over Everton is never going to be disappointing!

But why was it so one-sided? The injury sustained by Lukaku in the aftermath of the first goal almost certainly had something to do with it. Up until the goal, although Liverpool had created a few more chances than Everton, the game had been relatively even. Lukaku’s physicality combined with the pace of Kevin Mirallas is a threat against any team, so against our defence it was particularly worrying! Had Lukaku not been forced off it seems highly unlikely that Everton would have failed to score. As it is Roberto Martinez was forced to bring on Steven Naismith, who failed to produce any noteworthy chance all game.

That said, nothing should be taken away from Liverpool. In attack they were excellent- my man of the match was Coutinho, who finally seemed to click back into the form he was showing before his injury. Sturridge and Suarez were also excellent as usual, and Sterling, though not quite perhaps as prominent as he has been in the last two or three games, still played a very big part going forward. Defensively there was very little to do, but Mignolet made a few decent saves when called upon.

To sum up, it was a very good all-round performance. The team generally worked together in a slick, fluent manner, and the counter-attacking football on show was supreme. It will certainly fill the players with confidence, which will hopefully see us get onto a nice run of form. It also cements our place in the top 4,  which is a place we will surely be come the end of the season if we keep putting in performances such as these.

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013

Everton 3-3 Liverpool: Post-Match Analysis

I’m still in shock. Yesterday (Saturday 23^rd November), Liverpool and Everton played out one of the best, most dramatic Merseyside derbies to date. Many predicted it would be a good game, with both sides having good seasons, but nobody could have foreseen that it would turn into a six goal thriller, filled with all the ingredients to make a great game of football- controversy, exceptional play, drama and action right to the final whistle.

In their usual fashion, Liverpool started quickly. They won a corner inside 4 minutes, and subsequently scored from it- Coutinho smashing the ball emphatically into the net after Suarez had his shot blocked. Everton would have been disappointed to concede in such a manner- the marking was questionable, and James McCarthy, who was meant to be on the line to clear the ball, was standing in the goal! Consequently, his attempted clearance was ineffective, and Liverpool took the lead. However, it didn’t last long. 8 minutes into the game Leighton Baines delivered a very nice free kick, which, after a bit of a scramble, was turned home skilfully by Kevin Mirallas.

A few minutes later, Mirallas was involved again, but not in the right way. He tried to rob the ball from Suarez by sliding in, but his tackle was late and high, and his studs were up. It clearly should have been a red card (I may be biased, but I’m sure anyone would agree it was a horrendous challenge), but referee Phil Dowd only deemed it worthy of a yellow. This was not an isolated incident. The Everton game plan essentially seemed to be ‘try and get Suarez stretchered off the pitch’, and Mirallas in particular was guilty of multiple fouls. How he didn’t get sent off is beyond me.

Unfortunately for them, even dirty tactics could not contain the Uruguayan. 19 minutes in, he won a free kick in a promising position. Agger, Gerrard and Suarez all looked interested in taking it, but in the end it was Suarez who took on the responsibility. He certainly delivered- his glorious, curling effort got through the (admittedly somewhat scrappy) wall and past the outstretched glove of Tim Howard.  The game then died down a little, although both sides were still creating chances. Mignolet pulled off a couple of great saves to keep Liverpool in front going into the break.

After half time, it carried on in much the same way. With Baines off for Deulofeu, Everton became slightly more attacking, and Liverpool were forced into defending quite a lot. Mignolet made some astounding saves to retain the reds lead. With 30 minutes to go, Joe Allen was presented with a glorious chance to reward Mignolet’s hard work by all but sinking Everton. Suarez dances exceptionally through 3 Everton defenders, and the ball broke for the Welshman. He was clean through on Howard, with Suarez to his left. He opted to shoot, and understandably so, for it was a very easy chance. However, he somehow put the ball wide of the target, letting Everton off the hook. It was extremely frustrating; even if he wasn’t confident taking on the simple shooting chance, why not just square it to Suarez for a tap-in? Suarez seemed to be thinking along the same lines- he was visibly furious with Allen.

This was arguably the catalyst that Everton required. They redoubled their efforts, and with 20 minutes to go levelled the game through Romelu Lukaku. The chance came after Mignolet made yet another sublime stop (he made 9 in total throughout the game), but could not gather the ball. The Liverpool box was crowded with blue shirts, and when the ball got driven it and fell to Lukaku, the outcome was inevitable. At this point Rodgers took off Lucas for Sturridge, a real sign of intent. Unfortunately, it did not immediately pay off. Everton won a corner in the 82^nd minute, which Lukaku headed powerfully home for his 2^nd and Everton’s 3^rd, putting them in front for the first time. Sturridge was on the line, but could not prevent the ball sailing over his head and in.

Despite the fact that there was so little time left, it didn’t really feel like the scoring was over, and so proved. With just a minute left of the ninety, substitute Daniel Sturridge headed home after a great free kick from the captain, Steven Gerrard. This brought things level, but Liverpool were not done. They kept piling on the pressure deep into added time, resulting in what was very nearly the winning goal. Suarez was denied by a good save from Howard, and Sturridge actually put the ball into the net, but from an offside position. Eventually the final whistle blew, bringing the rollercoaster of a match to an end.

Mignolet gets my man of the match award, as without him we would have ended up with a result a lot worse than a draw. Jon Flanagan, who was filling in at left-back for Enrique and Cissokho, also deserves a mention. He made some good tackles, and though he didn’t provide much attacking impetus he was solid at the back. All in all, although it was disappointing not to win against our fierce rivals, a draw was probably a fair result. It was an excellent, hard-fought game of football, and a pleasure (albeit a stressful pleasure) to watch. It should be remembered that an away draw against e team sitting 6^th in the table is nothing to be ashamed of, and with three very winnable games coming up the overriding feeling at Anfield should be optimism.

-James Martin

Follow me on Twitter @JamesMartin013