LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - In the 239th Merseyside derby at the end, it was brutal on and off the pitch, as Liverpool's incredible goal-scoring machine broke another record with a ruthless performance in a 4-1 victory at Everton - 1986 His biggest win at Goodison Park since.
Two goals from Mohamed Salah and one each from Jordan Henderson and Diogo Jota ensured that Liverpool became the first team in English football history to score two or more goals in 18 consecutive games. Liverpool have now scored 43 goals in 14 Premier League games this season - just over three games on average - and are third on the table, having scored 10 more than leaders Chelsea and 14 more than second-placed Manchester City. has done.
Jurgen Klopp's side is a formidable, powerful outfit and they will destroy teams better than Everton this season, but when it's your closest rivals who are proving so unstoppable, their class is no solace for the Blues. Will be
Gray clouds began to gather over Goodison before the game, with Rafael BenÃtez's team failing to win in the league since September, but the frustration of Everton's long-suffering fans raged with hundreds of people at the end of 90 minutes. Boiled. Back in the main stand abusing the club directors verbally. Not only were the slogans "Sack the board" laden with profanity.
"I think anyone who could have watched the game would say we made a lot of mistakes, and you pay for it when you do that against a top team," Benitez said. "Losing is always bad but when you lose to a team that has spent so much money and has such good players, sometimes it's because you make mistakes and the other team is good enough."
Benitez, of course, is the former Liverpool manager who guided the club to a Champions League victory in 2005 - the so-called "miracle of Istanbul" that assured the Spaniard of great status at Anfield.
His appointment as manager at Everton during the summer left fans divided and outright hostility from some, but Benitez managed to secure a majority. However, it was the game that all Evertonians were afraid of, and their worst fears were confirmed as Liverpool rioted and incited home fans singing Benitez's name throughout the house.
He also mocked Evertonians with other chants. It was a very miserable experience for the Blues, who have scored only two points out of the last 24 available, but when a team has the upper hand, it is natural for supporters to take advantage. The problem for Everton is that it has been so long since they dominated the rivalry that hope has been replaced by despair, and this is reflected in players' performances in derby games.
Trying to win with passion alone, against a team of Liverpool's quality, is a futile exercise, and Klopp's players lay there waiting for the same old Everton approach.
"The manager's message was that they would play physically strong and go 100% for every ball," Salah, who has now scored 19 goals in 19 matches this season, said. "We just had to play our game and try to create chances, which we did."
Henderson, who dominated midfield, opened the scoring in nine minutes by passing a left footed shot from 20 yards to Jordan Pickford. The England midfielder provided Salah with a clever pass in the 20th minute, which resulted in the forward breaking in the penalty area before curling a left-footed strike ahead of Pickford.
Everton pulled back once when Demarai Gray ended Richardson's pass on 38 minutes, but Liverpool were always in control and Salah secured the game in the 64th when he ran the full length of Everton Half before Seamus. Coleman pounced on the mistake and scored past Pickford. Thousands of Everton fans had left the field by the time Jota leveled it 4–1 in 79 minutes as Jota leveled the winning margin in the Screen Sports Super Cup semi-final at Goodison in September 1986.
It was Liverpool's latest away-day route. They are already five this season ahead of Manchester United, Watford and Porto, so Everton were probably lucky to restrict their neighbors to four.
In the Premier League, goal matching is already worth a point over its rivals in the event of falling below goal difference in the title race, but they are so hard to stop. Salah (10.32), Sadio Mane (8.28) and Jota (7.77) are the top three in the Premier League xG table, but Liverpool are also powerful from midfield, as Henderson showed at Goodison.
On this occasion, Liverpool's superiority won the game, but he held his head amidst the noise and frenzy of Goodison, and that too was important.
"I loved what I saw and it was by far the best performance we've had at Goodison," Klopp said. "We've taken a big step in our development that we can take these kinds of games, even when they're really important to the opponent. We can shore up emotions."
Unlike Everton, Liverpool don't need to rely on emotion to win. They are too good for this.