Liverpool were lucky to get away with anything from the match at Goodison Park, not to mention two goals and three points!
Everton looked the more coordinated and better organised, pressing and pressing, enjoying most of the possession and chances throughout the match, not letting Liverpool have even just a peek at the goal.
A rare Reds attack ended up in the back of the net and put the guests ahead against the run of play (12). Javier Mascherano's shot from far-out was deflected in by Joseph Yobo leaving Tim Howard stranded to his left. It was lucky for Liverpool, unfortunate own goal for Everton, as the shot looked like it would have gone wide without the defender's intervention.
Everton continued to press on, Jo seeing two goals disallowed before half time whilst Liverpool had their only real chance of the half, created by Glen Johnson and Emiliano Insua, saved brilliantly by Howard.
Everton stayed clearly the better in the second half, keeping in mind they have only ever come back from behind against Liverpool once since WWII. Tim Cahill and Marouane Fellaini pulled a spectacular double-save from Pepe Reina with just under 20 minutes to go, a match saver.To make matters worse for Everton, after all their dominance and a good save by Howard against Albert Riera, Yobo gave the ball away to Johnson who provided Dirk Kuyt with an easy tap-in cross from the left to make it two for Liverpool. After all their hard work, Everton seemed to have outplayed themselves.
Football can be a cruel world, as Ireland got to know the hardest way too against France most recently. But, Liverpool can hopefully use this bit of fortune to their advantage, to turn their season around for the better, to get them out of the hole they have fallen into over the last couple of months, even if it has to come at some cost, like it was Everton's today.
Everton Howard; Hibbert, Yobo (Neill 23), Distin, Baines; Pienaar, Cahill (Yakubu 82), Heitinga, Fellaini, Bilyaletdinov; Jo (Saha 66). Bookings Heitinga 84. Subs not used Nash, Coleman, Gosling, Baxter.
Liverpool Reina; Johnson, Carragher, Agger, Insua; Kuyt, Mascherano, Gerrard, Lucas, Aurelio (Riera 78); Ngog (Benayoun 75). Subs not used Cavalieri, Kyrgiakos, Skrtel, Aquilani, El Zhar.
1st half stats:
Everton-Liverpool
Attempts: 7-7
On target: 3-2
Offsides: 4-0
Corners: 3-2
Free kicks: 5-3
2nd half stats:
Everton-Liverpool
Attempts: 5-6
On target: 4-2
Offsides: 1-0
Corners: 0-4
Free kicks: 5-9
Everton-Liverpool
Possession: 45.4%-54.6%
Passing Success: 75.8%-73%
Tackles/Success: 22/68.2%-35/68.6%
Territorial Advantage: 54.7%-45.3%
Referee: Alan Whiley
Man of the match: Pepe Reina
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