Liverpool beat Everton 2-1 in an entertaining Merseyside derby on Sunday to tighten their grip on fifth place in the Premier League.
Mohamed Salah finished calmly to give the Reds the lead at half-time, before Beto slid in to equalize for the Toffees within 10 minutes of the restart.
The first derby at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium looked to be headed for a draw until captain Virgil van Dijk scored deep into stoppage time to hush the raucous Everton crowd.
The result increases Liverpool’s gap ahead of Chelsea in the table to seven points and establishes some breathing space in their pursuit of Champions League football next season, but Arne Slot’s side can’t afford to take their foot off the gas just yet.
Let’s take a look at the key lessons from the match.
Derby Baptism of Fire
Three Liverpool players made their first Merseyside derby starts, and it proved to be something of a baptism of fire for Alexander Isak, Florian Wirtz, and Georgi Mamardashvili.
The physicality of the game seemed to be too much for Isak and Wirtz throughout the match, and Mamardashvili was stretchered off just shy of the hour mark after a coming together in the lead-up to Everton’s equalizer. That’s another injury headache for Slot, but more on that later.
Isak has had a stop-start Liverpool career thus far and is still lacking match fitness, but despite the win, he could be forgiven for feeling a little disappointed after this game.
The No. 9 was outmuscled by the Toffees' centre-back pairing of James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite before being substituted, having had the fewest touches of any player on the field after 72 minutes.
The striker’s lack of impact on the game was no doubt partly due to Wirtz being nullified for most of the match, too.
Liverpool lined up in a 4-2-3-1, with the German playmaker in his favoured No. 10 position, but the battling Everton midfield didn’t allow him to get into his flow. By suppressing Wirtz, Everton cut off one of Isak's major supply channels in this match.
The big-money signings would have been briefed on what to expect before this game, but on Sunday they learned that it’s a whole different thing to be in the heat of it. As they settle in at Anfield, you’d expect that they will come into future derbies more prepared for the hustle and bustle of the fixture.
Salah’s not done yet
When top scorer Hugo Ekitike left the field on a stretcher against PSG, it would have been a major worry for Slot with some tough fixtures ahead.
Salah has not been at his best, and the aforementioned Isak hasn’t been able to find goalscoring form at all in his first season, so there would have been a concern that goals would be lacking.
The man affectionately known as the Egyptian King showed that he’s ready to step up when required.
Moments after the Toffees had a goal chalked off for offside at the other end of the pitch, Salah raced onto a slide-rule pass from Cody Gakpo and kept his composure to slot past the onrushing Jordan Pickford.
Salah has had his fair share of criticism this season but deserves recognition for his efforts in this match. The winger was energetic throughout and did good work to track back and help out defensively with Liverpool once again lining up without a natural right-back this season.
With 12 goals and 9 assists in 38 appearances, it’s been a disappointing season by his lofty standards, but anybody who doubted that he’d show up in his last Merseyside derby was set straight.
Worries for the run-in
This derby will be reassuring for Liverpool fans after a disheartening last few games. The players’ desire to keep pushing even after 100 minutes of play proved that the Reds haven’t lost their spirit just yet, but Slot will need to ensure they maintain that over the next few weeks.
Seeing Mamardashvili leave the field injured is another blow, and with Liverpool No. 1 Alisson still sidelined, the third-choice keeper will have to step in.
To Freddie Woodman’s credit, he looked calm and composed when he came on, but the upcoming games won’t be a walk in the park.
It’s still quite early to say how many matches Woodman will play, but he will almost certainly start the next one. Speaking about Mamardashvili's injury to BBC Sport after the match, Slot said: “It didn't look great, it was a big wound and he went straight to the hospital. Let's see how that works out for him but fear worst – not for a long-term injury but for next week.”
Liverpool host Crystal Palace next. The good news is they have the best part of a week to prepare for it; the bad news is that the Eagles are something of a bogey team for Liverpool.
In their last six meetings, the Reds have only managed one win. Crystal Palace have faced Liverpool three times already this season, and they’ve won every match, so they’ll have a slight psychological edge when they head to Anfield on Saturday as well.
After that, each of the opponents on the fixture list is currently in the top half of the Premier League.
So, despite what looks like a comfortable gap for Liverpool with just five matches left, Slot’s men will need to keep up the fight to secure Champions League football next season and end this campaign positively.
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