admin According to the official Premier League site, Liverpool had 82.7 per cent of the possession today. The Premier League record is, or certainly was, Manchester City’s 82.9 per cent against Swansea in 2017-18.
“Is it wild hyperbole to think Diaz meant that assist?” says Gerard Aston. “He looks and plays like a champ man attacking regen of Dani Alves and that touch to control the ball on the wing changed the whole mood – it said, ‘We’re better than them let’s get this done’.”
I would have said no luck, had he not already produced one of the best first touches I’ve ever seen. Modern players are scarily good, so it wouldn’t shock me if he meant it.
“I sympathize with Philip Malcolm’s observations of the uneven application of VAR,” says Rick Harris. “Football is no longer really sport though is it, but just another branch of entertainment and as such there is a tendency to follow the narrative of the sports broadcasters. Everton aren’t the only club who have been on the wrong end of decisions that VAR did or didn’t influence.”
I don’t think it’s a conscious bias, nor is it new, though maybe it is even more apparent in an age of VAR.
Full time: Liverpool 2-0 Everton
Peep peep! Liverpool move to within a point of Manchester City after a tense, hard-fought victory at Anfield. The introduction of Divock Origi on the hour changed the game. Within two minutes he helped make a goal for Andy Robertson, and he scored the second with five minutes remaining.
Everton will feel they should have had a penalty at 0-0, and that Sadio Mane and Joel Matip might have been sent off. It was a wildly emotional game.
90+1 mins Richarlison shoots straight at Alisson, who copies Jordan Pickford earlier in the game by falling dramatically on the ball. The home crowd absolutely loved that.
90+1 mins Richarlison is booked. I think there was a row between Coleman and Pickford afterwards as well.
90 mins Richarlison could be in trouble here. He was fouled by Henderson, and then pushed his studs into the side of Henderson’s leg. It’s halfway between a yellow and a red card I’d say.
89 mins Dele Alli is booked for leaving one on Henderson.
88 mins I still think this is a good day for Everton. They’ve played really well, shown great spirit and avoided the kind of doing that could have shattered their morale. And Anthony Gordon has been wonderful.
87 mins Divock Origi has changed this game. He got the crowd going even before he came on, played a good part in the first goal and then scored the second.
Divock Origi seals victory with yet another goal against Everton. A corner was half cleared to Henderson on the right, and he clipped it back towards Diaz at the far post. Diaz’s spectacular overhead kick went straight into the ground – but it bounced up perfectly for Origi to head into the net from four yards.
GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Everton (Origi 85)
Guess who.
84 mins After a fine run from Salah, Thiago’s deflected shot is punched behind by Pickford.
83 mins Liverpool make their final substitution: Jordan Henderson replaces Diogo Jota, which makes a return to 4-3-3.
82 mins “I’m not much of an Allan fan at all, but he can hold his head high after the shift he put in today,” says Eric Peterson. “The lack of pace that’s usually so easy to exploit becomes irrelevant when the defense stays as compact as Everton’s has, and he kept a good lid on that cauldron of emotion in him that’s prone to boil over a bit too easily. He was at the heart of why Liverpool had such a rough time for so much of the game trying to break Everton down.”
81 mins Salah plays a one-two with Origi and puts in a low cross that is shanked towards his own goal by Holgate. Happily for him, it goes straight to Jordan Pickford.
79 mins: Brilliant defending from Robertson! A loose ball is picked up on the left of the area by Dele Alli, who walks away from Alexander-Arnold and pokes a low cross that is booted away by Robertson in the six-yard box. I think Iwobi would have scored without Robertson’s intervention.
79 mins Mykolenko’s free-kick from the left is punched away unconvincingly by Alisson. The ball hits Matip and rebounds safely for Liverpool. That could have gone anywhere.
78 mins “While I agree Everton can take heart from this performance, so far,” says Rob Moore, “I’d imagine it’s a lot easier getting up for a derby against your title-chasing rivals than it is against Leicester or Brentford, for instance . And that’s only to do with rivalry, and not a slight against either of those two respectable teams.”
I would agree with that if they weren’t slap-bang in the middle of a relegation battle. Every game should be of equal importance, both consciously and unconsciously.
78 mins Another Everton change: Salomon Rondon replaces Demarai Gray.
77 mins Origi plays a give-and-go with Salah and runs into Keane in the area. Liverpool want a penalty; Stuart Attwell isn’t interested. At worst it was obstruction.
76 mins A quiet little spell. Liverpool have the game under control at the moment, though they would like a second ASAP.
75 mins “Sorry to be the classic bitter blue, but why does nobody in the media EVER point out the clear advantage of being a title-chasing team playing at home with the current standard Premier league officiating?” says Philip Malcolm. “Jota could have had two reds in the first half and if it’s Michael Keane hauling down Salah in front of the Kop, that’s a penalty all day.”
Everton have been very unlucky with decisions today. It’s hard to place it in a wider context though. We all think we know the best teams get more favorable decisions, because apparently referees are human beings as well, but I don’t know how you quantify it.
73 mins A change for Everton: Dele Alli replaces Allan, who has worked his nylon/elastane socks off.
72 mins: So close from Gray! What an effort that was. The brilliant Gordon held off Matip and found Iwobi, who squared it to Gray 25 yards out. He took a touch and sweetspotted a rising drive that flashed just wide and smacked the post behind the goal. Alisson’s desperate dive betrayed how worried he was.
71 mins “According to my weather app, it’s 62 degrees in Liverpool,” says Joe Pearson. “Why on earth is Klopp wearing a long puffy coat!?”
There’s nothing underneath though. Nothing.
70 mins Diaz’s shot takes a deflection and spins onto the roof of the net. He has been spectacularly good since coming on.
67 mins Alexander-Arnold’s left-footed cross is glanced wide by the backpedalling Origi. It’s all Liverpool now, both in terms of possession and odds. This game is probably over.
66 mins: Off the line by Holgate! Matip’s header is cleared off the line by Holgate, and Salah volleys the rebound over the bar. That was a really good chance for Salah. Pickford was all over the place, having climbed over Jota to punch the ball clear. He thought he was crowded.
65 mins That first touch!
64 mins Diaz kills Alexander-Arnold’s crossfield pass with an unbelievable first touch – a kind of flying rabona – then hares past Coleman and stabs a cross shot that is blocked by Pickford. That first touch was outrageous. He was in mid-air, his right foot wrapped round his left, and cushioned it with the side of the foot.
64 mins I was just about to say before the goal that, whatever happens from here, Everton should take so much heart from their performance today. If they can play like this at Anfield, away games really shouldn’t be such a trial.
63 mins Apparently that was Origi’s first touch of the game.
Liverpool worked the ball brilliantly in a very congested area. Salah played a one-two with Origi and stood up an excellent right-footed cross to the far post. Jota couldn’t reach it but Robertson arrived to plant a downward header back across Pickford.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Everton (Robertson 62)
Andy Robertson has broken Everton down!
60 mins Two changes for Liverpool: Luis Diaz and Divock Origi replace Naby Keita and Sadio Mane. I guess that means a switch to 4-2-4: Diaz left, Salah right, Origi and Jota up front.
59 mins The resulting free-kick is headed across goal and wide by Iwobi. Wasn’t much of a chance. The liverpool supporters are chanting Divock Origi’s name.
58 mins Alexander-Arnold is booked for scything down the outstanding Anthony Gordon, who had run 60 yards on the break. His attitude and fighting spirit are so impressive.
57 mins If Everton do lose this, and that remains the likeliest scenario, Frank Lampard will have plenty to complain about. Sadio Mane might have been sent off, and because he wasn’t trying to play the ball, Matip would have walked as well had he been penalized for pushing Gordon.
56 mins: Just wide from Gordon! Another chance for Everton on the break. Iwobi flips a clever pass over Matip and Alexander-Arnold to find Gordon, who drags wide with his left foot from a tight angle.
53 mins: Everton penalty appeal! Everton break three on two, with Iwobi playing Gordon in on the left of the area. Matip comes across and leans into Gordon, who falls over. Stuart Attwell decides it’s neither a dive nor a penalty. It’s definitely not a dive but it could easily have been a penalty – it was halfway between a lean and a shove. I think that’s a lot. It probably wasn’t a clear and obvious error, though, so I can understand why VAR didn’t get involved.
52 mins Jota’s backheel almost falls for Keita, with Mykolenko booting the ball away. It’s all Liverpool, as it has been throughout. But they still haven’t had a shot on target.
