It’s the local derby at the weekend for Liverpool, as noisy neighbors, Everton travel from the docks to Anfield. A fixture that is always feisty and tense. It has been a mixed bag over the past few seasons with two wins, one draw and one loss for Liverpool.
Everton have often made this game a huge challenge for LFC. Over the past few seasons the Blues have been impressive in most of the fixtures, putting the old saying, “form goes out the window for derbies” to good use.
In the 1980’s this fixture was often the decider on titles and cups, with both clubs dominating English football. Now it is mainly seen as a chance for Everton to try and one up LFC.
With the derby being played on Saturday, let’s look to the past and remember some of the best matches this fixture has produced.
Everton 1-4 Liverpool, 2021/22, Premier League
It was the beginning of December and the start of the busy Christmas period, Liverpool travelled to Goodison, looking to continue their march towards a title challenge.
Everton, who were managed by Rafa Benitez at the time, looked lost at sea in this game. Few derbies in recent times encapsulated the gulf between the two quite like this one, a real statement of where the two clubs were at this moment in time.
Two goals from the omnipotent Mo Salah, a rare goal for captain Jordan Henderson and one from Diogo Jota. Klopp’s side was too much for the Blues to handle.
All four LFC goals were top drawer. Henderson opened the scoring with a wonderfully placed, left footed shot from the edge of the box.
Salah then doubled the score 10 minutes later, a well-timed Salah signature run was picked out, Mo then took the ball into the box and perfectly curled his shot into the far corner of Jordan Pickford’s net.
Into the second half, with the score at 2-1, Mo got his second of the game, pouncing on a mistake, running through, with only Pickford to beat, he slid the ball into the corner of the net.
The final and potentially best goal of the night was from Diogo Jota, the Portuguese forward received the ball on his trailing left foot, he managed to drag the ball with his left foot into his path, from an acute angle he smashed the ball into the roof of the net, leaving Pickford no chance to save it.
A performance full of swagger and dominance, for LFC fans around the world, it was one of the sweetest derbies to watch.
Liverpool 5-2 Everton, 2019/20, Premier League
Another derby that was played at the beginning of December. A much-rotated Reds came up against another struggling Everton side, this time managed by Marco Silva. The Reds went eight points clear at the top of the table after this win.
It was cult hero and Merseyside derby legend Divock Origi who stole the show with two brilliant goals.
A second of the rotated players, Xherdan Shaqiri, got on the scoresheet, with the other two goals coming from regular stars, Gini Wijnaldum and Sadio Mane.
Even though it was a rotated front three, all of them looked in tune with one another.
Origi opened the scoring six minutes in, a beautifully weighted ball into his path from Mane, allowed the striker to nip in and take it round Jordan Pickford and tap it into an empty net.
Shaqiri was also fed by Sadio Mane, with a nice reverse pass, which the Swiss hero, poked into the corner of the net. Everton got one back, but then the pick of the bunch for the LFC goals came as Origi was again found running in behind, this time by Dejan Lovren.
The defender pinged a peach of a pass into Origi, the striker plucked it out of the air and delicately lifted it over the scrambling Pickford.
The Reds scored their fourth of the half through Sadio Mane. A counter-attack, led to Mane being wide open on the edge of the box, he calmly placed his shot into the corner of the net, scoring a well-earnt goal.
The second half was much less chaotic, a Richarlison goal on the brink of half-time gave EFC some hope, but the Reds looked calm and composed.
The goal that fully put the game to bed came from Wijnaldum. Bobby Firmino dribbled past his man after chopping in and out, he picked out Wijnaldum, who took a touch and smashed it into the far corner.
For LFC fans, it was another chapter in a season of relentless excellence, it was also a game that summed up their rivals struggles and directly led to Silva’s sacking. As far as derbies go, it was chaotic, high-scoring, and unforgettable.
Everton 4-4 Liverpool, 1990/91, FA Cup
Few games in this fixture’s history can rival the sheer drama, mayhem and rapturous atmosphere of this match. Often thought of as one of the best games in the history of the prestigious FA Cup.
Liverpool took the lead on four occasions, every time the Blues pegged them back. Peter Beardsley scored a brace for the Reds, with Ian Rush and John Barnes both getting on the scoresheet.
There was just one goal in the first half, Peter Beardsley, scored his first. After a shot from Rush was unbelievably cleared off the line, it fell perfectly into the path of Beardsley, who’s half-volley nestled into the back of the net.
Into the second half, and after two minutes, Everton levelled up the scores. The mercurial Beardsley got his second of the game, after a wonderful slalom through the Everton defence, he slotted it into the EFC net.
After being pegged back for the second time, it was Rush’s turn to get on the scoresheet. A well placed cross into him from Jan Molby, left the Welshman to score a simple header by his standards.
With the game in extra-time, John Barnes was the man to step up and give Dalglish’s men another lead.
The Englishman cut in from the left, ran inside and then from the edge of the box hit a curling, dipping shot that found the back of the net. EFC equalised for the final time in the match and had the game go to a second replay.
This saw the end of Sir Kenny Dalglish’s first term at the helm of the club. This game captured everything about the rivalry… passion, unpredictability, and drama of the highest order.
Liverpool 3-2 Everton, 1988/89, FA Cup Final
I mentioned that “few games’ could match the previous entries drama, I think that this one perhaps had more pandemonium and caused even more bedlam back in Liverpool.
Picture it, an FA Cup Final against your biggest rivals, who for the past few weeks had been beautifully supportive of the club.
Just five weeks earlier, 96 LFC fans lost their lives at the Hillsborough disaster. It was an FA Cup Final filled with emotion, with the city coming together as the two teams travelled down to Wembley.
The hallowed turf of Wembley was host to an absolute spectacle. A game worthy of the occasion. John Aldridge got one with Ian Rush scoring a brace for the Reds.
Aldridge set the stage with an early opener from a well-weighted square pass from Steve McMahon left Aldridge wide open in the middle of the box where he hit a lovely shot into the Everton net.
It looked set to be a comfortable and dominant win for LFC when Everton equalized in the 89th minute to take the match into extra-time.
Another early goal from Liverpool, as a clipped cross from Steve Nicol, into the path of Rush, allowed the striker to pivot around the ball and open a lane for him to slot it into the corner of the net.
Everton equalized once again with a lovely volley from Stuart McCall, who got his brace. Just a minute later it was Rush who got his brace, a delightfully whipped cross from John Barnes found him free to cushion his header into the bottom corner and finally seeing off the persistent Everton.
It was jubilation for Liverpool and heartbreak for Everton, but the bigger picture was one of respect and commemoration. The tragedy of Hillsborough hung heavy over the occasion, yet the match provided a moment of release and a reminder of football’s power to unite communities even in times of grief.