London, February 20: Liverpool suffered a fourth straight
Premier League defeat as Everton ended their miserable run at Anfield with a
2-0 victory on Saturday.
In a match that Liverpool went on to dominate after a
lacklustre first-half display, Richarlison's third-minute goal and Gylfi
Sigurdsson's late penalty proved enough for Everton to claim a first away win
over their Merseyside rivals since September 1999.
Liverpool's efforts were not helped by the loss of Jordan
Henderson to injury, with Sadio Mane missing two presentable chances that might
have made Everton pay for profligate finishing from Seamus Coleman and
Richarlison.
The centre of derby drama in recent meetings, Jordan
Pickford also played a pivotal role, making a wonderful save from Mohamed
Salah, setting the stage for Sigurdsson to condemn Jurgen Klopp's champions to
a fourth successive home reverse.
Everton made a blistering start in the blustery conditions –
James Rodriguez sliipping a pass through to Richarlison, who finished crisply
across Alisson and into the left corner to put the Toffees ahead in a
Merseyside derby for the first time since 2010.
Henderson had a winner disallowed by VAR in October's
reverse fixture, and his wicked volley would have restored parity if not for
Pickford's finger-tip save, with Everton's goalkeeper then denying Trent
Alexander-Arnold.
Liverpool were dealt a blow on the half-hour as Henderson
succumbed to injury, and Coleman should have compounded the hosts' frustration
when he met Lucas Digne's cross, only to head straight at Alisson.
Mane twice missed from close range early in the second half,
before Michael Keane's last-ditch tackle denied Liverpool's number 10.
3 - Richarlison's third minute goal is Everton's second-fastest Premier League goal scored against Liverpool, behind only Olivier Dacourt's first minute strike in April 1999. Rapid. pic.twitter.com/Hu25awgIyp
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 20, 2021
A rare Everton attack resulted in Richarlison racing behind
Liverpool's defence, only for the Brazilian to hesitate when one-on-one with
Alisson.
Salah seemed set to punish Everton when Liverpool carved out
another chance, but Pickford rushed out to smother the angle.
And that proved vital, with Calvert-Lewin soon adjudged to
have been fouled by Alexander-Arnold at the other end of the pitch after
Alisson's fine save.
After a long wait for a VAR check, Sigurdsson slotted in the
resulting penalty as Carlo Ancelotti masterminded the Toffees' first derby
victory in over a decade.
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