Liverpool scored two late goals to break down a resilient ten-man Everton side at Anfield in the early kickoff on Saturday. With the three points here, The Reds went top of the table, with the remaining teams all left to play their matches later.
The game started brightly, and Everton’s only shot on target in the whole game came in the first minute. Dwight McNeil whipped in a cross from the left, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin climbed above Virgil van Dijk to make contact. However, his header was tame and straight at Allisson.
Liverpool were finding it difficult to play through the centre of the pitch, with Abdoulaye Doucoure tightly marking Trent Alexander-Arnold, and limiting the latter’s opportunities to play his trademark line-breaking passes.
The home side’s best chance of the opening period came on the counter-attack from an Everton corner, with Luis Diaz getting a sight at goal. The Colombian’s attempt was deflected away for a corner following a last-ditch tackle from Ashley Young.
With eight minutes to play before the break, there came the moment which changed the course of the game completely. Young, already on a yellow card for an earlier foul on Diaz, chopped down the winger once again just outside the box. The referee was left with no option but to give the defender his marching orders, for a second bookable offence.
Sean Dyche wrung the changes at half-time, bringing off both his wingers McNeil and Jack Harrison, for Michael Keane and Nathan Patterson, respectively. He switched to a five-at-the-back formation, with the focus very much on keeping the opponents out.
A moment of controversy came just after the hour-mark, when Ibrahima Konate brought down substitute Beto on the halfway line, with the striker possibly running through on goal. The Liverpool man was already on a yellow card, but the referee decided not to go to his pocket again. Dyche and his bench were absolutely livid, and the manager was given a booking for his protestations.
Klopp acted swiftly, taking Konate off for Joel Matip. He also brought on Darwin Nunez and Harvey Elliott, sacrificing a defender to match the number Everton had in the Reds’ box.
After a lot of huffing and puffing without a clear sight at goal, the defining moment came with 15 minutes left to play. Nunez’s cross hit Keane on the hand, and after a VAR review, the defender’s arm was adjudged to be outstretched in an unnatural position. Mohamed Salah, who had had a quiet game by his standards, dispatched the resultant spot-kick with aplomb past Jordan Pickford.
Everton didn’t have the quality or the quantity to create anything of note after this, and their only opportunities at an equaliser came from corner kicks.
With seven of the nine injury-time minutes played, the visitors were caught napping with too many men forward in attack. Nunez led the counter-attack, and unselfishly set up Salah for his brace.
Player Ratings
Liverpool
Allisson – 7
Trent Alexander-Arnold – 8
Ibrahima Konate – 6
Virgil van Dijk – 7
Kostas Tsimikas – 6
Dominic Szoboszlai – 7
Alexis Mac Allister – 7
Ryan Gravenberch – 6
Mohamed Salah – 9*
Diogo Jota – 7
Luis Diaz – 8
Substitutes
Harvey Elliott – 7
Darwin Nunez – 8
Joel Matip – 6
Everton
Jordan Pickford – 6
Ashley Young – 5
James Tarkowski – 7
Jarrad Branthwaite – 6
Vitalii Mykolenko – 7
Jack Harrison – 6
James Garner – 7
Amadou Onana – 7
Dwight McNeil – 6
Abdoulaye Doucoure – 7
Dominic Calvert-Lewin – 6
Substitutes
Nathan Patterson – 6
Michael Keane – 5
Beto – 6
