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Everton were held to a 1-1 draw by arch-rivals Liverpool at Goodison Park on Sunday. The 225th Merseyside derby kicked off with Liverpool fielding a side with no Scouser for the first time in 19 years. Danny Ings opened the scoring before Romelu Lukaku cancelled it out late in the first half.
Squads
Everton: Tim Howard, Brendan Galloway, Funes Mori, Phil Jagielka (C), Tyias Browning, Gareth Barry, James McCarthy, Steven Naismith, Ross Barkley, Gerard Deulofeu, Romelu Lukaku
Liverpool: Simon Mignolet, Alberto Moreno, Martin Skrtel, Mamadou Sakho, Nathaniel Clyne, James Milner, Emre Can, Lucas Leiva, Philippe Coutinho, Daniel Sturridge, Danny Ings
First Half: Liverpool dominate until defensive error gifts Everton a goal
Everton set up in a 4-5-1 formation with Lukaku leading the charge and Naismith behind nim. Meanwhile, Liverpool set up in a 3-4-1-2 formation with Can, Skrtel and Sakho in the 3-man defensive line, Clyne and Moreno as wing backs and Coutinho playing behind Ings and Sturridge.
The derby started as expected – at a frenetic pace – and it was Liverpool who created more chances in the first 20 minutes of the game with Everton pegged back and unable to carry the ball forward. While Liverpool fans screamed for a penalty in the fourth minute when Milner looked like he was brought down by Howard, the American goalkeeper had got the ball first. Milner himself did not complain as referee Martin Atkinson refused to point to the spot.
In the eighth minute, Skrtel found himself onside on the right but his cross into the box was shot wide of the target by Sturridge. Five minutes later, Ings had another chance on goal when Clyne’s header found him in the corner of the box. His half-volley went just above the bar with Howard having it covered if it was on target.
Everton’s first real chance came in the 28th minute when Ross Barkley won a free kick. The Englishman lobbed the ball into the box and Naismith’s header from the centre of the box was on target, but Mignolet’s reflex save sent it out for a corner. The Belgian was called into action again just two minutes later when McCarthy’s drive from the edge of the box was tipped away.
Tempers flared in the 34th minute when Can held onto the ball, not allowing Barkley to take a quick throw-in. Both players had a go at each other and were booked by Atkinson after players from both teams separated the pair before things got out of hand. Two minutes later, Can was involved in a dangerous play when his overhead kick inside the box saw his shin hit Barry’s head as the English midfielder went for a brave, headed clearance.
Liverpool then made it 1-0 when Milner’s corner kick in the 42nd minute found an unmarked Ings inside the six-yard box. The English forward made no mistake as he headed home his second goal of the season from three yards out with Howard rooted to the spot.
But Everton came straight back in first half injury time when the Reds made a mess of a clearance from a Deulofeu cross. The ball pinged between Can and Skrtel before Lukaku pounced on the error and scored his seventh goal of the season – his fifth against Liverpool in his career.
Half-time: Everton 1-1 Liverpool
Second Half: Both sides fail to make chances count
Everton started the second half the livelier of the two sides with one corner and a free kick in the first three minutes.First, Browning’s flick-on header came off Sakho and went over the bar before Lukaku tested the defence with a low cross that was palmed away by Mignolet and cleared by Skrtel. Things threatened to boil over 11 minutes into the second half when Lucas’s reckless challenge brought down Naismith near the touchline, but Atkinson kept his cards in his pocket.
Roberto Martinez then made the first substitution of the game when Aaron Lennon came on for Deulofeu at the hour mark as the Spanish boss looked for a second goal. McCarthy then became the second Toffees player to get booked after a foul on Milner. But the Everton fans had reason to cheer when Lucas finally went into the referee’s book for a foul on Barkley.
Coutinho then found space just inside the box in the 72nd minute, but his effort on goal was punched away by Howard to keep the scores level at 1-1. Adam Lallana then came on for Ings in the 75th minute as Brendan Rodgers looked to switch tactics with a diamond in midfield. Kone was also brought on for Naismith while Joe Allen came on for the yellow-carded Lucas in the 79th minute.
Lukaku had a decent chance on goal in the 89th minute but Can was there to make a point-blank block. The Toffees pressed for a winner with some neat passing in and around the final third, but they were unable to make their chances count.
While the final stages of the match saw fans pleading for a second yellow when booked players went in for challenges, the match ended without a red card (the Merseyside Derby has the most red cards in the EPL era with 20). Sakho and Lukaku came closest to tempting the referee to send players off towards the end when they were involved in an altercation but Atkinson only produced yellow cards for the pair.
With three minutes added on, neither side were able to make the best use of it and the game ended 1-1, leaving the Toffees still leading the Anfield side by a point.
