Sunday, April 24, 2022

^*^ Player ratings, fan reaction & more: Liverpool continue tittle charge as Everton pushed towards Championship

Result

Sunday’s late Premier League kick-off played out a short time ago. Said game saw Liverpool and Everton face off in the final Merseyside derby of the campaign.

Liverpool headed into the game looking to regain some ground on league leaders Manchester City who smashed Watford 5-1 on Saturday.

Everton, meanwhile, were aiming to put some much-needed distance between themselves and the bottom three.

And, whilst Everton did cause something of an upset in the Merseyside derby last term, Liverpool were clear favourites for this game.

So, it was not too surprising when Jurgen Klopp’s men ran out 2-0 winners on the day.

Everton had a clear game plan throughout the 90 – sit back with 10 men behind the ball then try and hit Liverpool on the counter with Gordon, Richarlison or Gray’s pace. And to Everton’s credit they did it well in the first 45, preventing Liverpool having a single shot on target.

However, Liverpool eventually broke the deadlock when Andy Robertson headed in a Mo Salah cross.


Divock Origi then killed the game off 84 minutes in to hand Liverpool a 2-0 win and ensure Everton ended the day 18th in the league.

Liverpool player ratings

Alisson (6) – Had little to do but did what he had to do well.

Trent Alexander-Arnold (3) – Struggled to deal with the pace of Gordon and also gave away a number of balls with poor passing.

Joel Matip (6) – Carried the ball forward well. Lucky not to concede a penalty for a foul on Gordon.

Virgil van Dijk (6) – Solid display from the Dutchman who didn’t really put a foot wrong.

Andy Robertson (7.5) – Quiet first half but scored the all-important opener and then made a huge interception to deny an Everton equaliser.

Fabinho (5) – Gave the ball away several times throughout the game, which luckily didn’t cost Liverpool.

Thiago (5) – Struggled to pull the strings like he did so well vs Manchester United.

Naby Keita (5) – Had some decent link-up with Salah but struggled to create a big chance before being subbed after an hour.

Mohamed Salah (7) – Completed just one dribble in the first half. Good cross for the Robertson opener.

Sadio Mane (4.5) – Struggled to link play in the first 45 and was off after an hour.

Diogo Jota (4.5) – Has always been better for Liverpool through the middle so was not too surprising to see him less effective from the left before being switched to centre-forward at the end of the first half. Continued to struggle up top though.

Substitutes

Luis Diaz (7) – Added some much-needed spark to Liverpool’s attack when he came on.

Divock Origi (8) – Had an instant impact, linking up with Salah to set up the Robertson goal before then scoring a goal of his own 84 minutes in.

Jordan Henderson (5) – Good cross in build-up to Origi’s goal.

Everton player ratings

Jordan Pickford (4.5) – Dealt with the few things he had to in the first 45 well. Couldn’t do much about the goals.

Seamus Coleman (4) – Kept Jota quiet before he was moved through the middle. Should have tracked Robertson better for his goal.

Mason Holgate (5) – Not a great display, but not terrible considering who he was up against.

Michael Keane (4) – Should have tracked Origi better for his goal.

Vitali Mykolenko (7) – Bright start that saw him chasing the ball down and making a number of tackles to keep Salah quiet. Continued to be defensively astute throughout the match.

Allan (5) – Good start to the game but struggled to deal with Liverpool’s attack once Klopp brought on Origi and switched to a 4-2-4.

Abdoulaye Doucoure (5) – Broke up play ok in the first half but should have done a lot better with his chance when sent through by Richarlison.

Alex Iwobi (5) – Showed great intensity and pressing ability to stop Liverpool attacks before they reached their front three early on. Was less effective after Liverpool’s formation change.

Anthony Gordon (6.5) – Caused Trent issues down Liverpool’s right and was unlucky not to win a free-kick in a good position early on.

Demarai Gray (4) – A quiet game that saw him largely ineffective at both ends of the pitch.

Richarlison (4.5) – Quiet 90 minutes from the Brazilian which was to be expected given how Everton were set up. But he did play a good ball through to Doucoure on the counter 33 minutes in, which the Frenchman should have done better with.

Substitutes

Dele Alli (5) – Created one good chance when he came on.

Salomon Rondon (N/A)

What the experts said

What the fans said

What you may have missed


Click here to view our latest Premier League betting tips.

The Premier League table as it stands

# Team MP W D L F A D P
1 Manchester City 33 25 5 3 80 21 59 80
2 Liverpool FC 32 23 7 2 83 22 61 76
3 Chelsea FC 31 18 8 5 66 27 39 62
4 Arsenal FC 33 19 3 11 52 40 12 60
5 Tottenham Hotspur 33 18 4 11 56 38 18 58
6 Manchester United 34 15 9 10 53 51 2 54
7 West Ham United 33 15 7 11 52 43 9 52
8 Wolverhampton Wanderers 32 15 4 13 33 28 5 49
9 Newcastle United 34 11 10 13 40 55 -15 43
10 Leicester City 32 11 9 12 47 51 -4 42
11 Brentford FC 34 11 7 16 41 49 -8 40
12 Brighton & Hove Albion 33 9 13 11 29 40 -11 40
13 Southampton FC 33 9 12 12 38 54 -16 39
14 Crystal Palace 32 8 13 11 43 41 2 37
15 Aston Villa 32 11 4 17 42 46 -4 37
16 Leeds United 32 8 9 15 38 68 -30 33
17 Everton FC 31 8 5 18 34 53 -19 29
18 Burnley FC 32 5 13 14 28 45 -17 28
19 Watford FC 33 6 4 23 31 67 -36 22
20 Norwich City 33 5 6 22 22 69 -47 21
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