Goodison Park Enjoys Goalless Derby

Sports - Football - Premier League - EVE 0:0 LIV

Liverpool have taken their unbeaten run to 17 games in all competitions against Everton - W8 D9 - their longest ever run without defeat against their Merseyside rivals after a goalless draw at Goodison Park in the lunchtime kickoff on Saturday.

Click here for my full ByTheMinute match coverage.

Jürgen Klopp made five changes for the Reds with their eyes on the Champions League second-leg clash against Manchester City next week.

Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino were the most notable absentees, the prior due to injury, the latter dropped onto the bench.

Big Sam made just one change for the Toffees from the side that lost 3-1 to Manchester City last weekend, Tom Davies replacing Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

The visitors dominated throughout, hardly giving the home side any time on the ball, but pace was noticeably missing on both sides.

Toffee keeper Jordan Pickford denied Dominic Solanke point blank after just over quarter of an hour gone.

On the other side of the pitch, Loris Karius punched Yannick Bolasie's magnificent curl full-stretch out for a corner halfway through the first half.

After half an hour, man of the match James Milner took a chance from the left, what a take and stop it was, Pickford with another strong save.

As much as Liverpool had the ball, it got more and more frustrating watching kick-about after kick-about, nothing coming from it.

Sadio Mané put a chance high from outside the box just before the break and Virgil van Dijk missed a couple of chances as well,

Bolasie, skipper Phil Jagielka and Seamus Coleman were all guilty of being reckless with their tackling and wasting the rare chances the Toffees got, but the referee kept the book in his pocket.

Wayne Rooney wasn't happy coming off with just under an hour gone, Idrissa Gueye replacing him, but the home side actually improved afterwards and got more into the game.

Coleman and Danny Ings clashed, but referee Michael Oliver just had a word with both captains Jagielka and Jordan Henderson respectively, no cards, no nothing.

Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain replaced Milner with just over 20 minutes to go and tried to replicate his Wednesday Champions League cracker from outside the box, but it wasn't quite the same, going out high for a goal kick.

Cenk Tosun, Theo Walcott and substitute Calvert-Lewin wasted chances from close range late on, Liverpool's defensive changes going for the draw.

It ended goalless, Everton finishing on a high after Liverpool rode the show - plenty of chances missed, wasted and went begging, frustrating to watch.

The second half saw no shots on target by either side and it was only the second Merseyside derby in PL history without a single booking, first since their opening clash in December 1992.

The home side will definitely have been happier with the point, the visitors' heads lost in Europe.

Two points dropped for the Reds, keeping them in third, one point behind the Red Devils in second before their evening kick-off against local rivals City.

HT Stats: EVE 0-0 LIV
Possession: 34%-66%
Shots: 3-7
On target: 1-3
Corners: 2-2
Fouls: 7-2

FT Stats: EVE 0-0 LIV
Possession: 38%-62%
Shots: 6-10
On target: 1-3
Corners: 3-2
Fouls: 12-7

Everton Team: 1 Pickford; 3 Baines, 4 Keane, 6 Jagielka (c), 23 Coleman; 2 Schneiderlin, 10 Rooney (17 Gueye 57'); 7 Bolasie (29 Calvert-Lewin 61'), 26 Davies (54 Baningme 79'), 11 Walcott; 14 Tosun. 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 15 Martina, 19 Niasse, 25 Funes Mori, 33 Joel.

Liverpool Team: 1 Karius; 17 Klavan, 4 van Dijk, 6 Lovren, 2 Clyne; 6 Milner (21 Oxlade-Chamberlain 68'), 14 Henderson (c), 5 Wijnaldum; 19 Mané (9 Firmino 74'), 29 Solanke, 28 Ings (66 Alexander-Arnold 89'). 4-3-3
Subs not used: 22 Mignolet, 63 Masterson, 48 Jones, 64 Camacho.

Referee: Michael Oliver
Man of the match: James Milner
Ground: Goodison Park
Attendance: 39,220

Click here for my previous LFC match report.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match report, Sky Sports app, Twitter and SFR coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 19

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 19

The 19th week of the Premier League action saw:

31 goals - most by Man City = 4
250 shots - most by Chelsea = 25
86 on target - most by Liverpool = 9
102 corners - most by West Brom = 11
203 fouls - most by Leicester = 19
23 yellow cards - most by Everton & Crystal Palace = 3 each
1 red card - Daniel Amartey for Leicester
3 penalties - 2 scored (Newcastle's Rob Elliot denied West Ham's Andre Ayew, Luka Milivojevic scored for Crystal Palace, Harry Kane for Tottenham)

What a game! Defenders seemed to have already gone on their Christmas break! Three goals in 388 crazy seconds saw Arsenal come back from two goals down, but Liverpool grabbed a third to make it 3-3 and a point each in a gob-smacking encounter at the Emirates on Friday Night Football. Click here for my full match report.
The first win in ten games for Newcastle came against West Ham, a five-goal thriller at the London Stadium, and it could have been many more, the woodwork was hit twice, a penalty saved, is that Rafael Benítez's job saved after two miserable winless months? The three points have moved the Magpies out of the relegation zone.
And the late and last kick-off of a very busy Saturday definitely had it in it. Leicester produced some class to take the lead, top stuff by Jamie Vardy, but Manchester United came back thanks to Juan Mata's double. The Fox mascot and Santa Clause ended up celebrating in the King Power crowd when Harry Maguire found the late late equaliser beating the Red Devils bus after playing just over 20 minutes down to ten men thanks to substitute Daniel Amartey's sending off after being just 16:09 minutes on the pitch. Even Claude Puel had a big fat smile on his face when the final whistle blew! José Mourinho less so. But that's nothing new.

What a team! Manchester City cruised to victory against Bournemouth, their 17th win on the trot, which ended up looking like a training game. Sergio Agüero netted his 100th at the Etihad, followed by City's 100th Premier League goal in 2017. They are the first English top-flight team to score 100 goals in a calendar year since Liverpool in 1982 (106). Raheem Sterling and sub Danilo added a couple more in-between and after the great Argentine respectively, the match ending 4-0, if I kept count correctly. Who can the way Pep Guardiola's men are going?! On fire! Unstoppable! Halfway through the season now, the Citizens are 13 points clear of United after their draw mentioned above, the biggest points gap between first and second place at Christmas in English top-flight history! It's the same gap (of 13 points) between Everton in ninth to Swansea at the bottom!!! Unbelievable!

What a man! Everton boss Sam Allardyce was once again scary to watch on the sideline at Goodison Park, shouting his face off and going mental watching his side put ten men back to frustrate the hell out of Chelsea and earn a point, keeping his unbeaten run going. Skipper Phil Jagielka cleared the ball off the line twice within seconds to make sure the game remained goalless! The Toffees failed to have a shot on target in a Premier League home game for the first time since December 2011, 2211 days ago, against Stoke. The Big Sam effect?
Stoke City boss Mark Hughes was a relieved man after seeing his side beat West Brom 3-1, only their second win in nine Premier League games, avoiding the drop into the relegation zone. The Baggies meanwhile are on their worst run, 18 games without a win in all competitions, 17 in the league (D8, L9), worst run since Aston Villa in 2016 (19 games without a win) and we all know what happened with them... Alan Pardew's side remain 19th, three points from safety.

What a goal! It was a great finish by Pascal Groß for Brighton to finally record a win again, their first in eight, and only their second goal in seven, at Watford's cost, their fourth league defeat in a row and fifth in their last six games, keeping Marco Silva's side stuck in tenth, whilst the Seagulls have gone up to 12th. Huddersfield manager David Wagner's double change immediately payed off when Laurent Depoitre headed in the equaliser at Southampton, Tommy Smith the provider seconds after coming on. Another super sub was Jordan Ayew for managerless Swansea, levelling out Crystal Palace's penalty by Luka Milivojević to make it 1-1 moments after replacing Luciano Narsingh. Temporary player-manager Leon Britton will celebrate that point for sure after Paul Clement was sacked during the week... Roy Hodgson meanwhile could celebrate his club's eighth unbeaten Premier League game, their longest run in the top-flight since October 1990!

What the hell?! Tottenham's Dele Alli got booked within the opening four minutes for a reckless challenge, to go on and win one of the softest of the soft penalties just a couple of minutes later, for Harry Kane to give Mauricio Pochettino's side the lead at Burnley. Double ARGH for Sean Dyche and every other neutral watching! But the top striker finished off the hard-fighting Clarets with a hat-trick, his seventh in 2017, equalling Alan Shearer's record of most Premier League goals in a calendar year (36 in 1995), and moving to the top of the league scoring list this season, level with Mohamed Salah on 15. Only Lionel Messi has scored more goals this year, 54 in all games played, just one more than the Spurs forward. The Argentine has no games left to play this year, whilst Kane has Southampton at home on Boxing Day. ⚽️👊🏻⚽️👊🏻⚽️

My Predictions - Actual Results
Arsenal 2:2 Liverpool - 3:3 or click here for my match report
Everton 1:1 Chelsea - 0:0
Brighton 1:1 Watford - 1:0
Man City 4:0 Bournemouth - 4:0
Southampton 3:2 Huddersfield - 1:1
Stoke City 1:1 West Brom - 3:1
Swansea 1:1 Crystal Palace - 1:1
West Ham 1:0 Newcastle - 2:3
Burnley 1:1 Tottenham - 0:3
Leicester 1:2 Man United - 2:2

Click here for my previous Premier League Picks.

All pictures, facts and stats were taken from the BBC match reports, Twitter and SFR live coverage.

Rooney Grabs A Point From The Spot

Sports - Football - Premier League - LFC 1:1 EFC

Here are my live match notes, stats and facts:

Pre-match surprise: Coutinho and Firmino dropped to the bench, part of six changes for the Reds!!! (See the full line-ups at the bottom of these live match notes.)

15' 76%-24% possession, Reds pushing, Toffees leaving too much space at times, Big Sam going ballistic on the sideline, even Jürgen Klopp was taken aback next to the big raging boss.

23' 93%-46% passing accuracy, quality and dominance but still no real danger nor breakthrough.

29' 5-0 attempts, 0-0 on target, on top but somewhat disappointing so far for the Reds.

36' first BOOKING of the derby goes to Sigurdsson for a late tackle on Henderson, studs on ankle, ouch.

42' second BOOKING Gueye, late tackle from behind on Senegalese team mate Mané, free kick for the home side on the left -

GOAL - Salah fights his way through from the right, lifts and swerves a beauty up, away and into the left corner with his magical left foot, keeper no chance, 1-0!

Two minutes added on.

MISS - Mané skips past the last Toffee, runs in from the left, has three other Reds free in front of goal to choose from, but the Senegalese striker puts it wide instead. Should have been 2-0!

HT LFC 1-0 EFC
Possession: 80%-20%
Shots: 12-1
On target: 1-1
Corners: 3-0
Fouls: 4-6
Yellow cards: 0-2

Two CHANGES made by Big Sam after the break, Lennon and Schneiderlin on for Davies and Niasse. Rooney has gone from useless right-back to up front. Will it bring Everton into the game?

49' Salah header JUST wide, brilliant Milner cross. Liverpool continuing the way they were going, on top, dominant.

50' Sigurdsson puts the ball wide from the left, no real threat.

52' Fifth corner to the Reds, looking dangerous, Toffees struggling, crumbling, sixth corner, headed away, threat still not cleared, all Liverpool at the moment.

55' Seventh and eighth Liverpool corner, Salah fires it high from the edge of the box. 15-1 shots, but just 1-1 on target.

63' 77%-23% possession, I don't know how that has gone down, it's still all Red, one-way traffic. 35-2 touches in the opposition box.

65' Pickford was just watching there as Gomez headed the ball over off a free kick on the left, close one.

67' First CHANGE made by Klopp, Firmino replaces goal scorer Salah. Calculated gamble by the German boss, the commentators ask.

73' 11-1 corners, first one for the visitors, the fans cheer as if they've scored, nothing from it.

76' PENALTY TO EVERTON Lovren pushed down Calvert-Lewin in the box, no one else near, no threat as they were running towards the corner, clumsy one, soft one, a present. The visitors' first penalty at Anfield since 1988!!!

77' ROONEY EQUALISES from the spot, his first EVER goal in the Merseyside derby, Liverpool punished for their misses and clumsiness.

80' CHANGE Klopp brings on Coutinho for Oxlade-Chamberlain in response to that equaliser, Lovren had been booked for the penalty offence.

82' CHANGE Solanke is replaced by Ings, final dice thrown by Klopp.

82' Last CHANGE for Everton as well, Rooney handing the captain's armband over to Jagielka.

85' Schneiderlin BOOKED for felling down Milner. Coutinho to take the resulting free kick, Pickford saves and collects it to his top right. 22-3 shots, only 3-2 on target.

88' Lovren heads another Liverpool corner high. He will be kicking himself for giving away the win.

Four minutes added on, Firmino on the stretch, ball goes out for a goal kick. Henderson fires high late on, disappointing.

Full time whistle blows, Lovren still protesting to the officials, but he can moan as much as he likes, he has given the win away with the penalty foul. 1-1 and one point each, all the dominance and chances don't count for anything!

Positive note: Liverpool remain unbeaten in the last ten matches in all competitions and have equalled their longest-ever unbeaten run against the Toffees in all competitions = 15 games, set between March 1972 and April 1978.

FT LFC 1-1 EFC
Possession: 79%-21%
Shots: 23-3
On target: 3-2
Corners: 2-1
Fouls: 8-11
Yellow cards: 1-3

Klopp's post-match interview!!! Wow! The German normal and usually smiley one didn't take the questions about the spot kick lightly!!! No matter how angry he is about the referee, he can't ignore his side's weaknesses and how they couldn't take the game away from Big Sam's side. Next: West Brom at Anfield on Wednesday!

Liverpool team: 22 Mignolet, 12 Gomez, 6 Lovren (booked 76'), 17 Klavan, 26 Robertson, 14 Henderson (c), 7 Milner, 21 Oxlade-Chamberlain (10 Coutinho 78'), 19 Mané, 11 Salah (9 Firmino 67'), 29 Solanke (28 Ings 82'). 4-2-3-1
Subs not used: 1 Karius, 5 Wijnaldum, 23 Can, 66 Alexander-Arnold.

Everton team: 1 Pickford, 43 Kenny, 15 Martina, 30 Holgate, 5 Williams, 17 Gueye (booked 42'), 29 Calvert-Lewin, 26 Davies (12 Lennon HT), 10 Rooney (c) (6 Jagielka 82'), 18 Sigurdsson (booked 36'), 19 Niasse (2 Schneiderlin HT, booked 85'). 4-3-3
Subs not used: 33 Robles, 4 Keane, 27 Vlasic, 31 Lookman.

Referee: Craig Pawson
Man of the match: Jonjoe Kenny
Ground: Anfield
Attendance: 53,082

Click here for my previous LFC match report.

All facts and stats were taken from the BBC match report, Twitter and Sky Sports live match coverage.

Premier League Picks Of The Week 20

Sports - Football - Premier League - Week 20

The 20th week of the Premier League action saw:

240 shots - most by Liverpool = 21
29 goals - most by Bournemouth, Arsenal, Everton & West Brom = 3 each
192 fouls - most by Watford = 15
40 bookings - most by Man City = 5
3 red cards - Francis for Bournemouth, Fernandinho for Man City & Feghouli for West Ham
4 penalties - 4 scored (Wilson for Bournemouth, Baines for Everton & Defoe for Sunderland x 2!!!)

What a game! Tottenham's 2-0 win against league leaders Chelsea thanks to Dele Alli's double at White Hart Lane was, as Mauricio Pocchetino put it, massive! Massive for them, massive for everyone! The Blues' first defeat in over three months means three points dropped, and the game is still on in the title race. The season is not over as too many had already ticked it off. Antonio Conte's side is not perfect, stopped from recording their 14th consecutive win and making Premier League history. Spurs meanwhile are unbeaten at home this season, beware of the overlooked sneaking up.

What a team! It was the first time Arsenal came back from three goals down, Bournemouth the victims. Olivier Giroud was the hero once again with an injury-time winner after being involved in the other two goals, too, to make it 3-3 at Dean Court.The dramatic comeback was helped by Simon Francis being sent off for a challenge on Aaron Ramsey, Cherries boss Eddie Howe felt it was "harsh". Harsh but true, the Gunners' stubbornness payed off, hitting and hurting the home side hard.

What a man! Everton manager Ronald Koeman enjoyed a comfortable 3-0 win against his former side Southampton, thanks to Enner Valencia (73'), Leighton Baines (81' pen) and Romelu Lukaku (89), taking the latter's league tally to 54. Only Harry Kane (59) and Sergio Agüero (77) have scored more Premier League goals since the Belgian forward's debut in September 2013. Everton did leave it late, but it was worth it for them, leaving Saints down and dire in 10th after three consecutive defeats.

What a goal! New Swansea boss Paul Clement can be more than happy with his winning start moving his side off the bottom of the Premier League table. Spanish right back Àngel Rangel found the winner at Crystal Palace in the 88th minute, crucial and crushing for Sam Allardyce in his first home game with the Eagles, who are now hovering just one place and one point above the relegation zone. It was the first time ever the former England boss has lost his opening home Premier League match, having previously won four and drawn one.

What the hell?! Leicester, oh Leicester. 21 points from 20 Premier League games is the worst return by reigning league champions and there is nothing much else to report from their dull 0-0 draw at Middlesbrough. Meanwhile at the Stadium of Light, Jürgen Klopp was left shaking his head in disbelief (with a sarcastic smile on his face) after his side gave the lead away, twice, handing two spot kicks to non-other than Jermain Defoe. After beating Manchester City last week, Liverpool will be gutted to have dropped two points against the struggling Black Cats. The happier and more grateful and relieved David Moyes will be after two defeats in a row.

My Predictions - Actual Results
Middlesbrough 2:1 Leicester - 0:0
Everton 2:1 Southampton - 3:0
Man City 1:1 Burnley - 2:1
Sunderland 1:4 Liverpool - 2:2
West Brom 1:1 Hull City - 3:1
West Ham 1:2 Man United - 0:2
Bournemouth 1:3 Arsenal - 3:3
Crystal Palace 1:0 Swansea - 1:2
Stoke City 3:2 Watford - 2:0
Tottenham 3:3 Chelsea - 2:0

Click her for last week's Premier League Picks.

Pictures and stats taken from the BBC match report.