It is the hope that kills you.
Even in defeat Everton, so dismal on the road for so much of the season, showed once again they can cause problems to title challengers. Had controversial decisions gone their way - Anthony Gordon having a clear shout for a penalty with the scores level - they might have left their city rivals with a valuable point, maybe more.
Goodison Park and Anfield may only be separated by Stanley Park but Everton and Liverpool are, on the pitch, worlds apart. Yet that was not obvious for much of the 240th Merseyside derby.
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This was a game that, for the first hour at least, went against a script that felt pre-written throughout the build-up. They may not have dominated possession or passing statistics but Everton showed a resilience and determination that offers hope for the climax of the season.
They competed with a Liverpool side sweeping all before them in a way few gave them a chance of doing before kick-off. Everton even caused the hosts problems, Gordon offering further evidence a gem has been unearthed at Finch Farm.
But just as it looked like there was a genuine possibility they could come away from Anfield with a valuable point, Everton were undone - and, in Divock Origi, undone by a Liverpool man who continues to haunt the nightmares of Blues supporters.
And while the post-match celebratory fist pumps of Jurgen Klopp will have contained a greater measure of relief than many would have expected, a battling defeat is ultimately little consolation for an Everton side now playing catch-up in the relegation battle.
The pre-match storyline for the Blues was dominated by Frank Lampard’s squad selection. Yerry Mina, who returned from long-term injury against Leicester City in midweek and whose fitness is set to be crucial in the final weeks of the season, did not make the squad and was replaced by Mason Holgate.
Questions over whether Fabian Delph could play games in quick succession were answered as he dropped to the bench for Abdoulaye Doucoure. Everton being Everton and this season being this season meant there was still time for late drama, as Ben Godfrey was withdrawn from the starting line-up moments before kick-off. With no Mina on the bench, Michael Keane stepped in.
Despite the setback, Everton battled well in a first half in which they posed a genuine threat. Those in Blue did not control the game, far from it. But they hustled and harried Liverpool, preventing them from settling and forcing stray passes that provided opportunities to counter-attack.
Demarai Gray, who squandered an early free kick by hitting the wall, broke into the box and fashioned space only to delay his shot and allow himself to be closed down. Gordon was played in behind Trent Alexander-Arnold and appeared to receive a shove in the back. It was outside the area but the winger had a genuine right to feel aggrieved at not receiving a free kick. Doucoure then flashed wide after he and Richarlison dispossessed Thiago and countered
These were half chances but they showed Everton presented a danger to one of the most assured squads in world football, who themselves struggled to create opportunities.
Everton may have also played a spoiling role in the first 45 minutes - Richarlison and Jordan Pickford chief among those to earn the scorn of the home crowd as they slowed the game down - but they deserved to go in level.
In the second half the threat continued - particularly down Liverpool's right. Everton fell deeper as Liverpool pressed but they repeatedly escaped their half with the ball, just lacking the pace and guile to turn promising positions into genuine chances, while Gordon had serious claims for a penalty rejected after being challenged by Joel Matip before shooting wide after being played in by Alex Iwobi.
Iwobi then headed wide from a Vitalii Mykolenko free kick earned when Gordon skipped past Naby Keita and forced Alexander-Arnold into a desperate lunge. It was a sign of Klopp's concern that he rung changes just before the hour mark - Origi and Luis Diaz replacing Sadio Mane and Keita.
Those changes had an immediate impact. Origi, for the first time offering Liverpool a target man in the box, combined with Mohamed Salah who crossed for Andrew Robertson to nod in at the back post. The goal sparked jubilant scenes at Anfield and buoyed a home crowd that had started to fret as Everton persevered.
YOUR SHOUT: Rate the Everton players after the 2-0 defeat to Liverpool in the Merseyside derby
It was harsh on an Everton side that, for that first hour, had showed once again this season they can compete against top-level opposition. Even after the goal Everton had chances, a last-ditch clearance from Robertson stopping Iwobi from tapping in after good work from substitute Dele Alli.
Origi scoring, his late header guaranteeing victory for the hosts, felt inevitable from the minute he was introduced. But the expectation he would do so stemmed from the trouble he has caused Everton over the years rather than because the visitors were crumbling under constant pressure.
Heroic defeats to Premier League title challengers are not enough for Everton, though. It is a measure of their startling season that the biggest goal of their afternoon may not have been on Merseyside but at Turf Moor 50 miles away.
Matej Vydra’s finish dumped the Blues into the relegation zone ahead of kick-off at Anfield. While a draw would have been enough for Burnley to overtake Everton, the 1-0 win for the Clarets heaped further misery on a fanbase suffering the most miserable of seasons.
Lampard can draw genuine positives from the 90 minutes that followed victory for the team that are, for the rest of this season, Everton's biggest rivals. Iwobi fought hard and showed glimpses of quality. Gordon came back from a frustrating performance against Leicester to provide a constant threat and have a genuine claim for man of the match.
It is true this game has offered much-needed hope Everton might be able to earn points away from Goodison Park. Yet the result means Everton will spend the rest of April in the bottom three. They cannot afford to still be there at the end of May.
