Everton 2 : 2 Liverpool

Sadio Mane and Mo Salah gave Liverpool the lead twice in the latest Merseyside derby but on each occasion, their hosts equalised; firstly through a Michael Keane header and secondly through Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Although puncturing their 100% record, the draw keeps Everton at the top of the league with 13 points from five games.

The strengths and weaknesses of VAR were once again highlighted as Liverpool had a late Jordan Henderson goal ruled out for a narrow offside. Jurgen Klopp’s men felt robbed of a victory after the match and multiple replays only served to show how close the call was.

There will be further debate about a reckless Jordan Pickford tackle on Virgil Van Dijk for which the Everton keeper could have been sent off had a previous offside not meant the play was stopped. Clearly Pickford had no idea the play was not live when he made the tackle and only a VAR review which revealed the Liverpool  centre half had been offside saved him form a red card.

The Reds were desperate to redeem themselves after a shambolic display against Aston Villa prior to the international break.

Sadio Mane missed out on the club’s most recent Premier League outing and made up for lost time by scoring within the first three minutes of the derby. The Senegalese’s finish from inside the box was the final component of a well-worked team goal.

Andy Robertson skipped past Seamus Coleman, took a step forward and then found Mane at the edge of the box. Mane made no mistake in finishing first time as his outstretched boot helped carry the ball into the roof of the net.

The first instance of controversy came just a few minutes later when Virgil van Dijk and Jordan Pickford fought to win a looped ball played in by Fabinho. The Dutchman looked favourite to get to the ball first.

The England No.1 came flying in and took a large piece of Van Dijk’s knee.

Image Credits: Goal

The officials could not give a foul as Van Dijk was offside in the first place. To add to the Reds’ angsst, the offside call was a tight one.

The tackle forced Van Dijk off the field, meaning it could be a very serious injury. In his post-match interview, Jurgen Klopp was outraged by Pickford’s tackle and said, “It is not a challenge the keeper can do.”

His absence was felt in the 19th minute when Everton drew level through a Keane header from a corner. Although the header did have some pace behind it, Liverpool’s deputy keeper, Adrian, could have done better as the header was straight at him.

The rest of the first half was easily controlled by Liverpool.

They had plenty of chances to go ahead, most notably, Trent Alexander Arnold’s indirect free-kick, which was wonderfully saved by Pickford. The teams went in to the break with the scoreline at one apiece.

At the outset of the second half, many expected the Reds to take the game to Everton, however, this wasn’t the case. Rather, it was Everton who had a higher tempo about their play.

This didn’t last for long though, as Liverpool’s midfield upped the game’s standard by a notch. It was Henderson and Thiago Alcantara’s forward minded play that helped the Reds move up the pitch.

As the game entered the last 20 minutes, Salah thumped in a beautiful half-volley, which deservedly restored Liverpool’s one goal lead. The strike marked his hundredth goal for Liverpool, the third fastest to reach that milestone for the club and the 17th Reds player to achieve that milestone.

Just as Liverpool seemed ready to close out the game, Everton struck back in the 82nd minute. It was through none other than England hero Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who leapt over Joe Gomez to head in Lucas Digne’s cross.

The most red-carded fixture in Premier League history added on to its tally when Richarlison slid right into Thiago’s kneecap. It was a horrendous tackle for which the Brazilian was rightly dismissed.

The drama didn’t end there, as Liverpool were huffing and puffing to give it one last go. Their efforts paid off as Henderson’s grounded shot managed to cross the goal-line, only for VAR official David Coote to judge Mane more offside.

The draw followed three years of goalless draws in the fixture and Everton’s winless run without a win in their derby now enters its second decade. Their first dropped point leaves Aston Villa as the only side in the EPL with a 100% record.

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