It is 14 months since the last Merseyside derby at Anfield. For a brief moment in time after Everton’s 2-0 victory over Liverpool, it seemed that Farhad Moshiri’s half-billion pound spending spree at Goodison had paid off. Jurgen Klopp’s team were on the slide, Carlo Ancelotti’s side on the rise.
Twelve days after Everton’s first win in front of the Kop in this millennium, the shift in the balance of power appeared to be confirmed. On March 4, Ancelotti’s men recorded a 1-0 victory away to West Bromwich Albion. That put them in fifth place in the Premier League, just one point behind Chelsea with a game in hand. Liverpool were languishing in seventh place. The Champions League was beckoning for Everton.
