After a disappointing week before the international break, Liverpool FC returned with a win in the Merseyside derby. Diogo Jota made the difference at Anfield.
After losing 4-1 on penalties to Paris in the Champions League and then going down 2-1 to Newcastle in the League Cup final, the Reds were keen to get back to work. However, manager Arne Slot was without first-choice goalkeeper Alisson, who had not recovered from a head injury sustained during the international break. Kelleher started in his place, as did Jones, who replaced Quansah (substitutes).
Meanwhile, Slot’s counterpart David Moyes has stabilized the Toffees in the almost three months since his return. The 1-1 draw with West Ham was their fourth draw in a row and meant there were no personnel changes for the Merseyside derby.
Reds start offensively – Everton in VAR luck
The home side set the tone early on and created the first notable opportunities through Konaté (2nd) and Diogo Jota (11th). The Reds often created danger, particularly down their left side.
Everton, who initially played reactively, were lucky that Tarkowski’s reckless challenge on Mac Allister only merited a yellow card after a VAR check. The captain played the ball but then kicked his opponent in the left calf with his open sole.
Beto hits the post – goalless at half-time
Although Liverpool continued to dominate the game, the rest of the first half saw an increasingly open game. Beto was just offside when he thought he had scored the opening goal (20′), and on the opposite side Salah headed just wide from close range (28′).
Since Beto only hit the post in the 33rd minute after a mistake by van Dijk, who took a deep breath, the score remained 0-0 at half-time. Although the statistics clearly favored the Reds at half-time, they also somewhat obscured the quality of Everton’s chances.
Diogo Jota redeems the Reds
The Toffees were unable to provide any such relief after the break, with Liverpool edging ever closer to the lead as the game wore on – and finally got their reward. With a clever back-heel from Luis Diaz, Diogo Jota broke free, dribbled cleverly in front of the opposing goal and scored with a low shot in the 57th minute to make it 1-0.
With the lead in the back, the home team remained offensive and kept the guests far from their own goal. From a chance firework could not be mentioned in the connection, only in the 82nd minute approached the hosts over Luis Diaz times promising. In Luis Diaz’s low shot Tarkowski was in the way.
Next step towards the championship
With the exception of a clash between LFC substitute Darwin and Pickford, the final phase was to remain without any major highlights. The Reds held out to see out a lead that was undoubtedly deserved by this point.
