LFC Toronto Match Review: Everton 0 – 0 Liverpool FC

Everton: 1

Liverpool FC: 3

Sadly, that’s not the final score but the number of times each side had hit the woodwork.

Liverpool’s team sheet must have raised more than a few eyebrows with Harvey Elliot and Fabio Carvalho both in the starting lineup and James Milner on the bench.

Of the three midfield players, we thus had two 20-somethings thrown in the deep end for their baptism of fire in the normally red hot cauldron of the Merseyside Derby. 

Also starting: Darwin Nunez is back from suspension for a red card. 

It was a clear statement of intent by Jurgen Klopp. Perhaps spurred by Liverpool having conceded first in 8 of their previous 9 league matches, the gaffer tried to get going all guns blazing and be the first one to score for a change.

But as former Liverpool manager Gérard Houllier was fond of saying: if you control the midfield, you control the match. And that was too much of an ask for the young derby debutants despite their scintillating performance over the past few games.

Although Everton still has to win their first league match this season after narrowly escaping relegation a few months ago, this was after all a derby where form is reputed to go out the window.

During the first half, there was in fact no clear-cut run of play, no dominant team and the scoreline at half-time could have gone either way. 

Fabinho was de facto the only one to provide defensive cover in midfield and that allowed Everton to create decent chances of their own.

They hit the post in the 32nd minute with a Tom Davies flick from the outside of his right boot after Carvalho had struggled to win the ball from Nathan Patterson.

Not to be outdone, Liverpool also hit the woodwork; twice in rapid succession right before halftime. 

Nunez fired a sumptuous volley from the right only for Everton keeper Jordan Pickford to incredibly tip the ball on his crossbar. In the follow-up action, Luis Diaz unleashed a ferocious shot that hit the upright. How unlucky can you get?

Shortly before that, Amadou Onana got yellow carded for a challenge on Carvalho who from that moment on, struggled to bring any contribution to the team. 

He was understandably substituted for the second half by Bobby Firmino whose experience brought a noticeable difference to the proceedings. 

Liverpool’s Number 9 would not hesitate to drop deep to provide more defensive cover and link up play between the midfield and the front line, arguably Liverpool’s missing ingredients during the first half.

After his vital contributions in the past two matches, one cannot help wondering whether the outcome of this game would have been different if he was in the initial XI.

At one point, Firmino forced Pickford into making two incredible saves, and England’s Number One also denied the other Brazilian, Fabinho. All that in the space of 1 minute. Not sure if Gareth Southgate was at Goodison Park though.

Everton did put the ball at the back of the net by Connor Coady but VAR cut short the wild celebrations of the ex-Red on account of being offside.

By then, the game had at times opened up more like basketball box-to-box action. This Merseyside Derby will be more remembered, if ever, by the performance of the two goalkeepers as Alisson Becker was also called in action on several occasions.

Even Mo Salah was strangely quiet until deep into added time when he hit the post, the third time for Liverpool. 

In mid-week, the Reds had forced a last-gasp winner against Newcastle. This time the rub of the green was not to be versus the team in blue.

Mike Chung.

YNWA