Liverpool's 23 wins, 7 draws, and 2 losses (83 goals scored, 22 goals conceded) put them in second place in the league, but after a 4-0 win over Manchester United, they were beaten 3-0 by Manchester City, and the top spot changed hands again. City's 5-1 win over Watford has put Liverpool's ability to hold on to the second spot in doubt.
With Liverpool facing Chelsea in the FA Cup and challenging Villarreal in the Champions League quarterfinals, the pressure of a three-front war is too great to lose. Once the Premier League lost points, the hope of competing for the league title becomes slim, can we expect Manchester City to fall together?
Everton, with 8 wins, 5 draws and 18 losses (34 goals scored, 53 conceded), are currently 18th in the league and are still being dragged to the brink of the relegation zone after a 1-0 home win over Wolves before this round.
Despite having a two-point lead with one less game to play, Everton has not been playing well of late and it's an open question whether they can catch up to the leaders.
This was the 240th Merseyside derby, with Liverpool holding the upper hand with 96 wins, 76 draws and 67 defeats (79 wins, 68 draws and 58 defeats in the league, 25 wins, 24 draws and 10 defeats in the Premier League). Last season, Liverpool ended a 23-game unbeaten streak in derbies when they fell into a six-game losing slump at home, losing 0-2 to Everton. Liverpool have rediscovered their home advantage this season with a burning desire for revenge, but can they come back all guns blazing against their neighbors who excel in physical confrontation and leave behind the fruits of victory?
Both Liverpool and Everton have adopted a 4-3-3 formation this round, but with very different tactical styles:
利物浦： 门将：Allison Becker 后卫：Trent Alexander-Arnold、Joel Matip、Virgil van Dijk、Andrew Robertson 中场：Naby Keita、Fabinho、Thiago Alcántara 前锋：Mohamed Salah、Sadio Mane、Diogo Jota
Everton: Forwards: Anthony Gordon, Richarlison, Demarai Gray Midfielders: Alex Iwobi, Allan, Abdoulaye Doucouré Defenders: Vitaliy Mykolenko, Michael Keane, Mason Holgate, Séamus Coleman Goalkeeper: Jordan Pickford
In the 5th minute of play, Anthony Gordon took a free kick from the top of the box that was blocked by the opposing wall. In the 15th minute, Richarlison played a pass to Demarai Gray but the shot was blocked by a defender. In the 21st minute, Naby Keita played a straight pass to Sadio Mane but shot over the crossbar.
In the 25th minute, Anthony Gordon dived in the box, sparking a skirmish that ended in a yellow card. In the 31st minute, Andrew Robertson crossed from the left to Diogo Jota but shot wide of the near post.
Everton countered in the 34th minute when Richarlison played a straight ball to Abdoulaye Doucouré, but the shot went wide of the far corner. In the 43rd minute, Naby Keita played a pass to Mohamed Salah but shot over the crossbar.
In the 45th minute, after Richarlison fell to the ground and the referee did not stop the match, Abdoulaye Doucouré, upset at his opponent's failure to comply with the rules of the game, kicked Fabinho, triggering a second clash between the two sides. The referee showed Abdoulaye Doucouré a yellow card and Sadio Mane a yellow card for disrespect.
The first half ended with Liverpool drawing 0-0 with Everton.
In the 47th minute Andrew Robertson's corner from the left was cleared by a defender. In the 53rd minute Anthony Gordon went down after a tangle from Joel Matip which was ignored by the referee and Everton boss Frank Lampard expressed his displeasure.
In the 55th minute, Thiago Alcántara played a pass to Fabinho, but the shot went wide of the left post. In the 56th minute, Alex Iwobi picked out Anthony Gordon, but the shot went wide of the far corner.
Everton countered in the 58th minute when Vitaliy Mykolenko's free kick from the left was headed in by Alex Iwobi but went wide of the right post. In the 59th minute, TAA sent in a cross from the right, Sadio Mane's header was blocked by a defender and Andrew Robertson's shot from the left was cleared off the line.
Liverpool replaced Naby Keita with Divock Origi and Sadio Mane with Luis Diaz in the 60th minute.
Liverpool took a 1-0 lead in the 62nd minute when Mohamed Salah made a blocking move with Divock Origi and crossed from the right side of the box for Andrew Robertson to head home, a substitution for Fortuna quickly breaking the deadlock.
Andrew Robertson collects his second goal of the season; Egyptian Pharaoh collects his 13th assist of the Premier League season, surpassing teammate TAA for the provisional double.
In the 66th minute, TAA sent a corner kick from the right side of the field to Joel Matip and his header was blocked by a defender. TAA then sent in another cross from the right side of the box, Joel Matip's header was parried by Jordan Pickford and the Egyptian Pharaohs fired a shot from the front of the box, but it was high and wide.Allan was given a yellow card by the referee for a foul.
In the 67th minute, a cross from the right side of the TAA box was headed wide by Divock Origi. In the 70th minute, Diogo Jota played a pass to Luis Diaz, but the shot was cleared off the line by a defender.
In the 71st minute, VVD took a shot from the left side of the top of the box, but it went wide of the left post. In the 72nd minute, Alex Iwobi crossed the ball and Demarai Gray shot off the left post and hit the post supporting the net.
Allan's 50th Premier League game came to an end in the 73rd minute when Everton replaced him with Dele Alli for his 300th league milestone.
In the 77th minute, Divock Origi broke through in the box and was blocked and fell to the ground, which was not indicated by the referee. Everton then replaced Demarai Gray with Salomón Rondón.
In the 79th minute, Dele Alli's cross from the left baseline was cleared by Andrew Robertson ahead of Alex Iwobi.Dele Alli then made a play for Richarlison but the shot was blocked by a defender.
Liverpool replaced Diogo Jota with Jordan Henderson in the 82nd minute.
In the 84th minute, Mohamed Salah's inverted cross from the right side of the box was met by Thiago Alcántara, who rushed to the top of the box and fired a shot that first touched a defender and then was deflected off the line by Jordan Pickford.
In the 85th minute, Andrew Robertson's corner kick from the left went straight to the outside, Jordan Henderson crossed from the right side of the top of the penalty area, Luis Diaz's reverse hook shot from the left side of the penalty area bounced off the ground, and it turned out to be just enough to turn into an assist for Divock Origi's header in front of the goal, locking Liverpool in a 2-0 win.
Divock Origi picked up his third goal of the season in the Premier League and sixth in all competitions, and not only was he nicknamed the transporter, he always put in a particularly eye-catching performance in the Merseyside derby.
In the 86th minute, Séamus Coleman's shot from the right side of the box was blocked by a defender. In the 89th minute, Dele Alli was shown a yellow card for stamping on Jordan Henderson. Yellow card to Richarlison for stamping on Jordan Henderson in the 90th+1st minute. In the 90th+1st minute, Richarlison's shot from the top of the box was confiscated by the keeper.
In the end, Liverpool beat Everton 2-0.
