It was more dropped points for Liverpool on Saturday afternoon in the Premier League as they drew 0-0 with Everton in the first Merseyside derby of the season.
The Reds have now lost nine points in just six games so far this season after hitting the woodwork three times at Goodison on another day of frustration for Jurgen Klopp 's side.
Darwin Nunez was handed a start after serving his suspension while Diogo Jota made his return from injury off the bench in the second half as Liverpool slipped to sixth in the Premier League table. Plenty of national media outlets were in attendance to watch the goalless derby. Here is a round-up of what they had to say.
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Chris Bascombe, via the Telegraph
"Two irrefutable facts emerged from a feisty but goalless Merseyside derby.
"Everton are better than the team which was nearly relegated last season. Liverpool are not currently at the same level as that which has gone toe-to-toe with Manchester City in three of the past four years.
"Jurgen Klopp will consider it premature to assess such fixtures in terms of their consequences in a title race which has barely reached the end of the opening lap. This was, after all, a typical scrap between neighbours signalling a return to normality in a fixture with long-established capacity to be leveller, the ninth draw in eleven Goodison Park derbies. Even in-form Klopp teams have struggled here, and presently his players are not in the necessary rhythm needed to plant a Liverpool flag on their rivals' turf.
“Rule number one: if you cannot win the derby, then don’t lose it,” Klopp said, grateful for the point."
Ben Grounds, via Sky Sports
"Liverpool dropped further points at the start of the new Premier League season as Conor Coady was denied a fairytale winner by VAR during a frantic 0-0 draw at Everton.
"After conceding first in eight of their last nine games, Liverpool were far from their best in the first half - and were fortunate not to extend that statistic when Tom Davies hit the post.
"Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz both struck the woodwork within the same phase of play shortly before the interval, with Jordan Pickford getting his fingertips onto Nunez's looping shot.
"Virgil van Dijk was booked for a nasty challenge on Amadou Onana - and was fortunate to escape further punishment according to Frank Lampard - before Everton thought they had taken the lead on 69 minutes when Coady tapped home Neal Maupay's cross-shot but VAR ruled out the goal after a lengthy delay."
Richard Jolly, via the Independent
"Four months after Jurgen Klopp was closing in on the quadruple, he has a less prestigious quartet. The German remains unbeaten at Goodison Park but a fourth goalless draw across Stanley Park of his reign meant that, winless as they remain, Everton emerged with more credit from the 241st Merseyside derby than Liverpool.
"A game of 36 shots was far more dramatic than the scoreline suggested. It had everything but the goal, with one disallowed, the woodwork rattled four times and a quite brilliant performance by Jordan Pickford. His meetings with Liverpool have featured harrowing errors and a terrible injury to Virgil van Dijk. This time Pickford traded the role of villain for that of hero, with an extraordinary save from Darwin Nunez, a very fine one from Roberto Firmino and an invaluable injury-time stop to thwart Mohamed Salah, while the Dutchman may have been fortunate to avoid a red card for a challenge on Amadou Onana. If controversy can be a constant in such fixtures, along with an Everton wait for a home win that now dates back to 2010, Liverpool could be concerned by more recent trends.
"Nine points have escaped their grasp already this season and, while they mounted a second-half onslaught, a new habit of slow starts is impeding them. At least this time they avoided conceding the first goal in a game, albeit because there were none."
Andy Hunter, via the Guardian
"There will be little fondness for the Merseyside derby when Jürgen Klopp is retired and reminiscing on a glittering Liverpool reign. “Not a lot of derbies will be in my book of games to look back on in the future,” he said. “Apart from one or two, it’s never an outstanding game of football.” The 241st edition was outstanding entertainment, however, an enthralling goalless draw that left both Merseyside rivals with cause for regret.
"Frank Lampard may take greater encouragement when he evaluates his first managerial point in five meetings against Klopp, even though Everton’s wait for a derby win at Goodison Park stretched to 12 years.
"Conor Coady thought he had ended the drought only for VAR to rule out his second-half goal against his boyhood club for offside. To the Everton manager’s chagrin VAR failed to intervene when Virgil van Dijk was only booked for going over the top on Amadou Onana."
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