Everton vs Liverpool: Five things we learned from the Merseyside derby
Everton 0-0 Liverpool: The hosts came close to finding a winner in the dying minutes of the match but ultimately failed to break down their opponents
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Your support makes all the difference.Klopp plays it safe
With a spot in the last four of Europe at stake, Jurgen Klopp understandably opted to play it safe for today's Merseyside derby. No Roberto Firmino, no Andrew Roberston and, most notably, no Mohamed Salah - who didn't even make it onto the bench having failed to recover from a groin injury. Instead, the likes of Dominic Solanke, Ragnar Klavan and Nathaniel Clyne were all drafted in while forgotten man Danny Ings made his first start under Klopp. Such a weakened side may have taken the edge out of the occasion but, in light of the bigger picture, Liverpool had every reason to pull their punches.
Low drama, low quality
Given the circumstances, this was never going to be a high-octane Merseyside derby - but none of us expected it to be this bad. The contrast in quality between the Liverpool side that ran out four days ago at Anfield and the one fielded today was astonishing while Everton, well, they did what Everton do best: disappoint in abundance. Passes were misplaced, possession was readily squandered, and promising attacks ended in wildly off-target shots on goal. Perhaps most worryingly, both teams developed an impressive knack for passing into large pockets of space occupied by nothing but the tacit realisation that this was a game missing any real purpose or spark.
Sam Allardyce had said before the match that his men would be ready to take advantage of their opponents' European focus but, if anything, they looked similarly distracted and pre-occupied. By what exactly, we can only guess. The hosts turned up the dial in the final 10 minutes, with Cenk Tosun and Seamus Coleman both coming within inches of a winner, but that did little to paper over the cracks of what was a truly dreadful game of football.
Pickford and Karius deliver
It wasn't all bad, though. There were moments of quality (I say this with a degree of hesitance) that managed to lift us out of our slumber. And were it not for the quality of Jordan Pickford and Loris Karius in between the sticks, the scoreline would have been somewhat different.
Yannick Bolasie's whip-crack shot, curling around a phalanx of red shirts, looked destined for the back of the net but Karius' diving finger-touch save denied Everton the sort of goal this game certainly didn't deserve.
At the other end of the pitch, Jordan Pickford put himself to good use early on, reacting with lightning-quick pace to push away Solanke's close-range shot. Then, in the 23rd minute, he emulated his counterpart in producing a sublime finger-tip save to push James Milner's curved effort around his left-hand side post.
In all, rare moments of quality from a game that is surely in the running for the worst Merseyside derby in recent Premier League history.
Allardyce running out of time
Allardyce is running short on time - that much is clear. His spell with Everton may have salvaged the side from the drop but he's done little to persuade fans, or the club's board, of his long-term value. Today, then, was a prime opportunity for the Englishman to demonstrate his worth in masterminding a morale-boosting win against a weakened Liverpool side.
But this simply didn't happened. Everton looked apathetic and lacked any real game-plan as they struggled to threaten their opponents. The Toffees have plenty of talent amid their ranks but Allardyce was unable to get the best out of his men - as has been the case for much of the season. His decision to replace Wayne Rooney with Idrissa Gueye after just 57 minutes was a clear admission that his tactics weren't working. Bolasie, too, was brought off shortly afterwards for Dominic Calvert-Lewin as Allardyce attempted to snatch the winner. But it was to no avail. Having underwhelmed so spectacularly today, you can't help but feel the Everton boss has failed in his last opportunity to win over his critics at Goodison Park.
Work to be done with Solanke
The English forward was handed a rare start and found himself trusted with leading the line for Liverpool alongside Ings. But despite the lack of pressure surrounding this fixture, Solanke put in a muted performance which suggests there is work to be done. The youngster has the pace and physical presence to intimidate but lacks any real end-product.
This was evident early on after Solanke pounced on a deflected ball in Everton's six-yard box only to fire his attempt down the throat of Pickford. Later on, he was teed up nicely by Sadio Mane on the edge of the Everton box but ended up smashing his shot into an oncoming blue shirt. At just 20 years of age, the Englishman has time on his side but it's in these sort of games where he needs to make his presence felt. Otherwise, he's at risk of spending his career on the periphery.
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