Everton dealt a potentially fatal blow to Liverpool’s title hopes and all but secured their own Premier League survival with a superb 2-0 win at Goodison Park.
The Toffees had not won a Merseyside derby on home soil since 2010, but rose to the occasion and bullied Liverpool in a physical display, moving themselves eight points clear of the relegation zone with just four matches to play.
Goals from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, both from set-pieces, downed Liverpool in Jurgen Klopp’s final Merseyside derby, and surely leaves the title battle as a two-horse race between Arsenal and Manchester City. Liverpool trail the Gunners by three points, and hold just a one-point lead over Pep Guardiola’s side despite playing two games more.
Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Alexis Mac Allister were among those restored to the starting lineup for the visitors, but it was yet another slow start as they struggled to cope with the aggression and intensity from those in blue.
Everton thought they had an early penalty when Calvert-Lewin was brought down by Alisson and the referee pointed to the spot, only for a VAR review to show the striker was offside when played in.
Liverpool did not make the most of that let-off though, and inside half an hour they were behind. A flurry of cheap free-kicks had enabled the hosts to regularly send the ball into the Liverpool box and it was no surprise that the goal from a set-piece. Branthwaite won the initial header, and Liverpool’s bungled attempts to clear only presented the ball back into his path, with the centre-back squirming an effort under Alisson and over the line.
Klopp’s side improved from a very low bar towards the end of the opening 45 minutes, though wastefulness was again an issue. Nunez hammered straight at Jordan Pickford when clean through on goal, before Luis Diaz did similar when offered a big chance of his own.
The visitors stayed on the front foot immediately after the break, but found a wall of blue shirts in their way. Curtis Jones and Dominik Szoboszlai had efforts charged down, and Klopp could only laugh on the touchline as that pressure was followed by a second Everton goal.
Salah, enduring a torrid night, let the ball run under his foot and Everton broke, with Dwight McNeil’s effort tipped over by Allison. The resulting corner was swung deep to the back post, where Calvert-Lewin rose highest to power a header home and give the Toffees real control.
Diaz crashed an effort off the post as Liverpool pushed for a way back into the match, but those comeback hopes petered out as Everton appeared increasingly comfortable in ticking away the minutes, securing a result that almost certainly ensures there will be Merseyside derbies on the Premier League fixture list next season.
