Jamie Carragher claims Everton ‘froze’ on the big stage as they were comfortably beaten 2-0 by Liverpool at Anfield.
The Toffees made the trip across Stanley Park in high spirits after beating Arsenal in Sean Dyche’s first game in charge. Liverpool meanwhile were coming off the back of some chastening results and hadn’t won a league game this calendar year.
But goals from Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo put that unwanted record to bed, with Everton left bemoaning two crucial errors. Dyche’s side had actually weathered the storm somewhat in the first half and were 10 minutes away from getting to the break unscathed.
However, following a blistering counter-attack - spearheaded by Darwin Nunez - a Jordan Pickford error gave Salah a simple chance to open the scoring. The England goalkeeper had hoped to cut the ball out before it reached Gakpo, not accounting for the prolific Salah who nipped and passed into an empty net.
And one became two just minutes into the second half when Trent Alexander-Arnold played a wonderful ball across goal for Gakpo to tap in. But despite the quality of the assist, replays showed Conor Coady had a simple chance to clear the ball, instead allowing it to run across his body and into the path of the Dutchman.
The defeat leaves the Toffees in the bottom three with 18 points from 22 Premier League matches this season. And Kop legend Carragher was unimpressed with their efforts having felt they could cause his old side a few issues before the game.
He told Sky Sports: “I’ll never be too critical of Everton coming to Anfield, not even at Goodison, not dominating the ball and getting on the ball and making big chances, but I think they’ve really let themselves down.
“They’ve frozen on this occasion, I just haven’t seen that pressing and getting in people’s faces that we saw - certainly last week, and certainly expected them today.
“I really feared how Liverpool would actually cope with Everton in this game having watched that game with Arsenal, certainly watching Liverpool the last few weeks. You have to also give credit to Liverpool, they’re looking like their normal selves in some senses.”
While Everton’s struggles continued, it was a much more positive night for their neighbours, who not only ended their winless run, but saw a number of key players return to action. Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino came off the bench, while Virgil van Dijk was fit enough to be named amongst the substitutes.
Carragher added: “Here comes Diogo Jota, you see him coming back, Firmino on the bench, Virgil van Dijk on the bench, it certainly bodes well if Liverpool can get some of those injured players back involved. That will make a huge difference in the second half of this season.
