No matter how the Merseyside derby ended, Liverpool played much more like their old selves. It wasn’t the best performance they’ll ever deliver but there was an intensity and enthusiasm in their play which has been absent far too regularly this season.
After the Reds had drawn 2-2 with Wolves last month, Jurgen Klopp spoke about their problems in that match. “In the whole game we didn’t win enough challenges, to be honest,” he said, but that wasn’t an issue earlier this week, with his side recording their highest duel win percentage of the league campaign.
Liverpool’s best derby player for duels (among those who attempted more than three) was Darwin Nunez, with a 67 per cent win rate. At the other end of the scale was Stefan Bajcetic, though only Mohamed Salah contested more than the youngster, in fairness. Irrespective of that minor concern, the midfielder got a nine in the post-game ratings and was named man of the match on Sky by Jamie Carragher. There was one metric which goes a long way towards explaining why.
