Everton 0-0 Liverpool
Marco Silva’s Everton played out a 0-0 draw with Liverpool in the 200th Merseyside league derby today to stop their city neighbours returning to the top of the Premier League.
After yesterday’s Premier League 2019 updates, Liverpool had conceded the top spot to Manchester City when the Sky Blues won at Bournemouth. Everton raised their game, particularly in the second half, and could have even won the match. But for Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool, this was another setback in their quest to win the title, and the Premier League 2019 odds have shifted firmly in the direction of Manchester.
There are still nine games to go, but having been seven points clear of Manchester City not so long ago Liverpool can feel the momentum swinging against them.
Highlights of the game
The atmosphere at Goodison Park was crackling from the first minute as the home fans sensed an opportunity to put a spanner in their city rivals’ title ambitions. They cheered every Blue pass and every tackle and they were on their feet when Gylfi Sigurdsson rode a challenge from Andy Robertson before squaring the ball, but Virgil van Dijk was on hand to clear the danger.
Liverpool slowly began to take control of the game. While chances were few and far in between, a golden opportunity came their way on the half-hour. Jordan Pickford made a catastrophic injury-time mistake in the December derby at Anfield to gift Divock Origi a goal and Liverpool a lucky win. But the Everton keeper got it just right this time when Mo Salah was clean through, making himself big and getting a strong hand to the Egyptian’s effort.
Everton’s first real attempt on goal came early in the second half when Dominic Calvert-Lewin met a corner and forced a good save from Alisson with a well-directed header.
Trent Alexander-Arnold fired a 30-yard free-kick in, but it was an easy save for Pickford. After a superb run from Joel Matip, Salah was clean through, but Micheal Keane stopped him with a last-ditch interception.
Everton had a good period of play, and Klopp responded by bringing on Roberto Firmino and James Milner. And Liverpool came close to scoring when Van Dijk headed across the box to Fabinho, but he was too ponderous with the goal at his mercy and couldn’t get his shot away.
The crowd ramped up the noise as Everton went on the attack, and Cenk Tosun had a great chance when he found himself onside, but his first-time effort rolled into Alisson’s hands.
The pressure seemed to be weighing heavily on Liverpool’s strikers with the front three struggling to create anything, and Everton looked the more likely to score. But their fans were delighted at the final whistle as they taunted the Reds with a brutal appraisal of their title prospects!
Key statistics
The Toffees started the day a massive 33 points behind Liverpool and only a win at Cardiff in midweek halted a run of three consecutive defeats. Their last derby triumph was in 2010 and Liverpool are now unbeaten in 17 Mersey derbies, but this will have felt like a win to the Toffees.
The first 45 minutes was a story of Liverpool dominating possession but only making one clear chance and registering just four shots. Meanwhile, Everton sat deep and satisfied themselves with one shot and a 45-minute clean sheet. By the final whistle, Everton had seven shots and three on target, as did Liverpool.
After Manchester United stopped Liverpool last week, another rival has frustrated them. But Klopp’s team has won just two in the last six games, and that is not title form.
What’s next?
Liverpool can get their challenge back on track with a home game against Burnley. Sean Dyche’s team has been in good form since the turn of the year but has just registered back-to-back defeats. While they will get in the Reds’ faces, Klopp’s men should have too much quality if they can stay calm.
Then it’s off to Munich for Champions League action in the second leg of their Round-of-16 clash with FC Bayern. Liverpool took a 0-0 draw with them, so a scoring draw against the Bundesliga champions will be enough to see them through. Keep checking for all the pre-match news and latest odds right here at SBOBET.
Everton will be away to Newcastle United, still with work to do to extend their stay in the Premier League but in great form at home. Rafa Benitez is a hard man to outwit, and the ex-Liverpool boss will give Silva a tough examination.
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