Liverpool kept City’s pulse and put Everton in relegation

Anfield once again pushed Liverpool on its exciting pulse with Manchester City in contention for the Premier League and brought eternal rival Everton to the brink of the abyss, falling into the relegation zone after Burnley caught up with the table before doing so the derby defeat was very expensive (2-0).

Liverpool moved within a point of City with five games left in the championship thanks to goals from Andy Robertson and Divock Origi, while Everton moved to third from late, two points from the rest.

It was a derby of maximum intensity and tension between eternal rivals with a lot at stake. Liverpool controlled the ball so much with almost 90% possession once against Everton that put a bus in their box and gave very few chances until the middle of the second half. Thiago Alcantara touched 26 balls more than the entire opposing team.

There was no rotation before Villarreal

Despite receiving Villarreal in the semifinals (first leg) of the Champions League on Wednesday, Jürgen Klopp did not rest his cracks because of the importance of the match. This time, however, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané encountered a lot of difficulties in the face of the tactical and orderly device presented by Frank Lampard.

A shot over Mané’s crossbar in the 23rd minute was the first shot by a Liverpool that further confined Everton more by pushing than by football. The tension was intense and could be seen in the ongoing clash between the players, which featured the overall turmoil caused by Abdoulaye Doucouré’s double entry, who saw a yellow card, to Fabinho.

Gordon, nuisance for ‘reds’

Passing through the locker room calmed but did not stop Liverpool’s harassment, though Anthony Gordon, who had already given a few flashes in the first half, became a nuisance due to his gallops down the left wing. The 21-year-old English midfielder is Everton’s only offensive resource but his arrivals have created panic in the local area: he has crossed too much, falling in place against Joel Matip and Trent Alexander-Arnold saw yellow after he was knocked down as he fled.

But during the game Klopp activated the keys of Luis Díaz and Divock Origi, who came in for Naby Keïta and Mané, and found the ‘click’ Liverpool needed to translate their harassment into a goal.

Double change with immediate effect

Nearly two minutes into the double change, Salah entered the ball that Diogo Jota missed, but Andy Robertson, unmarked, entered the ball into the net. Salah, the top scorer in the Premier, is the top assister with 13.

Liverpool were unhappy with this and Everton became ‘groggy’ when Jordan Pickford took a header from Matip and, after the rebound, Salah’s shot was just high (66 ’).

Fighting the ‘toffees’, Gordon continued to put the team behind him and led to a whiplash by Demarai Gray that smashed into the top corner (72 ’). Lampard risked entering Dele Alli for Allan in finding a 1-1 draw that didn’t come despite the test.

Origi, Everton’s executioner again

Finally Origi, as he did in the bizarre derby at Anfield, sentenced Everton. Luis Díaz tried a fantastic bike kick that went wrong but turned into an assist for the Belgian to head into the net (85 ‘).

Liverpool, with 14 consecutive games unbeaten, continue to roll towards the quadruplet. Next station, Villarreal.