Liverpool comfortably beat Everton 4-1 on Wednesday night in what was the host’s heaviest defeat at Goodison Park in the Merseyside derby for 39 years.
Rafa Benitez’s side failed to control the attacking force of Liverpool from the very start, with both Jordan Henderson and Mo Salah scoring within the first 19 minutes of the game.
Everton did get back in the game at one point, with Demarai Gray trying to salvage the scoreline making it 2-1 in the 38th minute, but it wasn’t to be for the Toffees, with both Salah and Diogo Jota scoring in the second half to kill the game.
The clash was full of aggressive play and physicality from both sides, as a result the Merseyside rivals collected seven yellow cards and committed 24 fouls combined, which was one of the most expected attributes of the encounter.
Something that maybe wasn’t expected, was the amount of goals Liverpool were able to put past their enemy, something that hasn’t been seen at Goodison Park in a derby for nearly four decades, this result is relatively unheard of in this fixtures with most clashes recently being closer calls between the pair.
Benitez will be feeling deflated this evening after a performance that lacked confidence and discipline throughout. His side endured their fourth defeat in five, and Everton fans were even seen leaving the stadium after Salah’s 19-minute goal, which will be tough to take for the manager and the club.
Liverpool dominated possession holding 70% of the ball overall, with seven shots on target compared to Everton’s two, the statistics are an accurate reflection of the overwhelming control Liverpool maintained throughout the game.
Although Salah took the spotlight with two magnificent goals, there was one unsung hero for Liverpool that cannot go under the radar.
Andy Robertson was absolutely crucial to the way the match opened up and the way it finished too, assisting Henderson’s 9th-minute opener and Jota’s 79th-minute killer strike, to seal a fantastic win for the Reds.
The £58.5m-rated left-back looked confident in his position, both going forward and defensively, getting stuck in at every opportunity. As per SofaScore, Robertson completed five tackles and three key passes, further adding to his impressive involvement in every aspect of the game whether that was creating goal-scoring opportunities or taking on defensive challenges.
Robertson has been criticised for a dip in form recently, with some calling for Konstantinos Tsimikas to start ahead of the Scottish defender in defence.
He will surely have silenced any critic last night, as he pulled the strings in build-up play, displayed complete selflessness and commitment to the team and read the game perfectly as he navigated from deep to assist two of the four goals, proving exactly why he is Klopp’s first choice.
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