Sean Dyche has officially been at Everton for 14 days. He learnt his harshest lesson so far in just 13 cruel seconds at Anfield.
That was how long it took between the ball thudding off the Liverpool post and it being poked past a bewilderingly stranded Jordan Pickford by Mohamed Salah in front of the Kop. Everton, so close to taking the lead, were instead chasing a game they could ill-afford to leave themselves exposed in.
It would be easy to look at those 13 seconds and conclude they were the perfect example of the fine margins between success and failure in one of the world's most ruthless sporting competitions. To do so would be to overlook factors Dyche has no choice other than to acknowledge if he is to plot a path to survival for Everton, if he is to prove wrong the words sung with such glee from the home fans after Salah's opener - that this would be Everton's last top flight derby.
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Pickford was booked in the 86th minute alongside Andy Robertson as chaos erupted in the corner. The scuffle dragged in players and substitutes. Words were exchanged. Shoves too. Sadly for the travelling Everton supporters who watched the spat unfold in front of them it was the first sign of fight from their players on a sorry night. The lack of pace within the squad was exposed by two breakaway goals and, but for an excellent Tarkowski block, there could have been another. Other problems inherited by Dyche, particularly those up top, also came to the fore.
Everton rank in the bottom three for shots on target and goals in the top flight this season. The issue was glaring going into January but, startlingly and shockingly, remained unsolved. With Dominic Calvert-Lewin, absent at Anfield due to the persistence of a hamstring issue, struggling to find fitness and form the question is how will Everton find the goals they need to keep them up? Tarkowski scored against Arsenal and almost repeated the trick as he met another back post corner. But the woodwork stopped him and Everton appeared bereft of further ideas over how else to cause Liverpool problems - at least until Tom Davies headed over a back post Iwobi cross late on.
None of the issues, from the lack of squad depth to a lack of striking options, were created by Dyche. But they are now his to solve. It is fair to say survival will not come down to nights like this but will instead be based upon the ability to get results against Leeds on Saturday, Aston Villa the week after that and then Nottingham Forest and Brentford, games that fall after a visit to Arsenal. One thing Everton must do is stop being the answer to the questions of so many others. Liverpool were out of form going into this match. So were Wolves and Bournemouth and Leicester City and Southampton. All took three points from Everton.
The big storyline going into this game broke 60 minutes before kick-off when the Everton team news dropped. It will rumble on for the rest of this week as fans and pundits attempt to interpret its implications for the game with Leeds and the rest of the season. As feared by most and expected by many given Dyche's "touch and go" prediction on Friday, Calvert-Lewin was not involved in the matchday squad. In replacing him, Ellis Simms made his first start since leading an injury-hit Rafa Benitez side at Chelsea in December 2021. Two managers have been sacked and two appointed since then, while Simms has been out on loan at Hearts and Sunderland during that time.
It was always going to be a difficult task for the academy graduate and that proved to be the case during a first half that held glimpses of promise but saw Liverpool dominate for large periods. Simms fought hard and did occupy Joel Matip and Joe Gomez in the heart of the home side's defence. But with Iwobi and Dwight McNeil pinned back and unable to support him from out wide the 22-year-old was outnumbered and isolated.
Everton got an early warning of Liverpool's attacking threat when Darwin Nunez cut inside and dribbled across the box before being brought down by Tarkowski. The result, correctly, was a free-kick despite the calls for a penalty from the Kop. Salah slammed it into the wall but the attack had highlighted the key battle of the early stages - Nunez against club captain Seamus Coleman, making his 400th appearance since signing, so famously, for £60,000.
Liverpool controlled the match but failed to make the advantage count, Cody Gakpo coming closest with a header from a miscued Nunez overhead kick. Through the battling Amadou Onana the visitors were just starting to get a foothold into the game when they were undone. It was the same tactic that worked against Arsenal. A booming, in-swinging corner to the back post, this time from, Iwobi, met by the header of Tarkowski.
Anfield slipped into slow motion as the ball looped beyond Alisson only to thud off the far post. Time then accelerated and in 13 seconds Salah had poked beyond Pickford as Liverpool broke with pace. The lack of pace in Everton's squad was ruthlessly exposed in that attack and, had Salah missed the ball from Nunez, teammates were lining up behind him.
The same issue was highlighted so brutally again after half-time. Iwobi may well have been fouled by Stefan Bajcetic inside Liverpool's own half. But from there Everton had several opportunities to thwart a move that ended with Gakpo tapping in at the back post from a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross.
The damage was done as Robertson evaded challenges in the middle of the park before feeding Salah, who slid Alexander-Arnold beyond the last man. Everton had 40 minutes to try and find a way back into the game. They never looked likely to do so. And therein lies Dyche's biggest problem. If Calvert-Lewin's injury problems persist then Everton will need more than deep inswinging corners to survive.
