Liverpool 1-0 Everton
Liverpool won the 232nd Merseyside Derby in dramatic fashion as Divock Origi scored a last gasp goal to break Everton hearts.
Manchester City’s victory over Bournemouth on Saturday made this a must win game for the Reds, but for 94 minutes it looked like they would be frustrated, until England keeper Jordan Pickford dropped a massive clanger to hand Origi an early Christmas gift. And so Liverpool remains just two points behind the Champions at the top of the Premier League.
It’s usually safe with our SBOBET tips to predict goals when Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool takes the pitch but we had accepted a 0-0 draw until the amazing climax. The weekend’s derbies sure have delivered some amazing Premier League 2018 highlights!
Highlights of the game
In a thrilling first half Everton almost got off the perfect start when Lucas Digne launched a free-kick into the Liverpool area onto the head of Yerry Mina, but the defender planted his effort just past the post.
Liverpool’s Xherdan Shaqiri put in a wonderful ball on 11 minutes but it just evaded Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane as both strained to get the vital touch. Then Mane really should have put the Reds ahead a minute later when Mo Salah played a lovely ball over the top of the Everton defence, but Mane blazed his shot over as the Anfield crowd leapt to its feet.
Firmino then sliced a shot wide after good work from Salah, but then Everton came so close to going ahead. First Allison made a great save from a point blank header by Andre Gomes, and then as the ball bounced back off the Everton midfielder and towards the net, Joe Gomez somehow got back to clear it off the line.
The Merseyside Derby has dished up plenty of feisty affairs over the years, with red cards scattered across the games gone by, and it was Shaqiri who picked up the first yellow of this game, dragging Bernard to the floor.
The keepers were both earning their money and Jordan Pickford made a brilliant save when Salah put through Shaqiri and the Swiss star headed for goal, but the England keeper stood his ground bravely to deny the Reds. Then it was Alison’s turn at the other end, Gylfi Sigurdsson found Theo Walcott with a superb through ball but the Liverpool stopper nicked it off the feet of Walcott to keep the score level at the break.
Sane had another golden opportunity early in the second half, latching onto a ball from Firmino but the Senegalese star fired wide under pressure from Seamus Coleman. He’ll feel he should have scored with his second big opportunity.
Liverpool huffed and puffed but just couldn’t blow the Everton house down, though Divock Origi came so close on 88 minutes after the ball dropped at his feet from a corner, but he hammered his shot against the cross bar, and when Daniel Sturridge fired a shot in from the rebound it was blocked again by the Toffees rearguard.
And then it happened. On 95 minutes poor Jordan Pickford had a vital job to tip a hopeful lob over the bar, but he somehow squeezed it against the woodwork and the ball bounced down for Origi to pop it over the line and send the Anfield crowd into frenzy.
What a finish!
Key Statistics
Everton haven’t beaten Liverpool since 2010 in this great derby rivalry, but head coach Marco Silva has made the Toffees a hard team to beat with a sharp cutting edge. Losing in the way they did, at the moment they did was a cruel blow.
The Liverpool vs. Everton betting tips looked at the short odds on the Reds, as low as 1.40, and saw a relatively comfortable home win but it was anything but.
But a win’s a win, and Liverpool has now won 24 of the Mersey Derbies since 1993 to Everton’s nine. And Klopp’s side is still unbeaten in the Premier League with 11 wins and three draws.
It was a great day for the Liverpool boss, it’s the first time he has beaten Marco Silva in three attempts and the Reds’ current run of 18 matches unbeaten against Everton is their longest in history.
What’s next?
Liverpool takes the short trip up into Lancashire to face Burnley on Wednesday. The Clarets have had a poor start to the campaign and are still to recapture the never-say-die quality which has served them so well in the Premier League. Clop will not take this fixture lightly having lost 2-0 at Turf Moor back in 2016.
Everton entertains Newcastle United, another side at the wrong end of the table, and that’s a good opportunity to get back on track. The Toffees are still sixth, but eight points behind fifth placed Spurs.
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