12 February 2025
Everton 2 Liverpool 2
Goodison Park was to hold its last-ever Merseyside derby as Everton welcomed league-leaders Liverpool. It promised to be a classic with this being the last time The Reds would make the short trip across Stanley Park. Arne Slot’s side were playing their game in hand and The Toffees would love nothing more than to put a spanner in the works of their neighbours title ambitions.
Both sides had crashed out of the FA Cup the weekend before and wanted to get back to winning ways in this crucial match. It was a packed-house at Goodison Park and the atmosphere was electric. That said, there was also an element of nostalgia in the air with the reality setting in that this was something the Everton fans would never experience again at their spiritual home.
The crowd was a sea of banners of scarves, with the away end adorning a message ‘at least an empty trophy cabinet is easier to carry……..30 years’. The Toffees’ fans were hoping to give the ground a perfect send off with victory over their old rivals. Liverpool have a tricky run of fixtures right now that will no doubt make or break their title challenge.
However, there was one man at Goodison Park who intended to ensure that he was the centre of attention in this encounter, Michael Oliver. It was a feisty start to the game, as you would expect, as Ndiaye went down on the halfway line. Despite there being no contact from the Liverpool players either side of him, the referee awarded the hosts a free-kick.
Branthwaite slotted a pass in behind the visitors’ defence to find Beto. He allowed the ball to run into his path and tucked it past Alisson as the stadium erupted. With just over ten minutes on the clock, David Moyes’ side had opened the scoring. It was the worst possible start for The Reds, where suddenly the home faithful became a twelfth man.
The visitors were awarded a free-kick, which Everton half-cleared. It was recycled well and Salah clipped a sublime cross into the box. Mac Allister rose to get a deft flick as time seemed to standstill, until his header nestled into the far corner. It silenced the Everton fans as the away end went crazy, the hosts had been ahead for all of five minutes.
An injury to Ndiaye saw a long stoppage, which resulted in the player going off the pitch crying. Everything that makes non-football fans hate the sport on display for all to see. As a result, we knew to expect a lot of added time to the end of the half. Deep into added time, Szoboszlai got a shot away from outside the box but Pickford got down well to save.
The most impressive moment was his recovery, along with Tarkowski, to prevent Diaz tucking home the rebound at the back post. The Toffees’ centre-back made a goal-saving challenge which could prove pivotal in this match. Both sides went into the break level, it was all to play for at Goodison Park, with the match finely poised.
By this stage of the game, the referee had been dishing cards out like a postman on Valentines’ Day. Always a classic sign that he is not in control of the game at all. Gueye was lucky to still be on the pitch after hauling down Gakpo on the halfway line, having already been booked. In true Oliver style, no two identical tackles were getting the same action taken at all.
After the interval, the hosts tried to ramp up the pressure on their neighbours. Gueye lifted a delightful cross in from out wide to pick out Doucoure unmarked in the box. The Everton midfielder got his header all wrong and sent it well wide of the target. He should have scored, the effort was so woeful it would have sat well in a showreel of Kai Havertz’s season.
Beto was using his physical strength well in the match and causing problems for the Liverpool defence. He linked up with Harrison, who had a sight of goal, but dragged his shot well wide of the target. The Toffees were giving the visitors plenty of warning signs that they could ill-afford any lapse of concentration at all.
Moyes’ side thought they had taken the lead when Branthwaite stabbed home from close range. However, you could see that there was a clear offside in the build-up. Now everyone had to put up with standing in a football stadium like you are waiting for a bus as the nominated clowns in Stockley Park decided how to deal with it. Finally, justice was served as it was ruled out.
As The Reds came on the offensive, Szoboszlai’s shot was blocked but Jones was the quickest to react to the loose ball. He tried curling his shot into the far corner but Branthwaite blocked with his head. It dropped to Salah at the back post, who took one touch to control it, before striking it into the back of the net to give Slot’s side the lead.
Everton struggled to create anything of note as they tried to get back into the game. Liverpool broke with Jota and as he drove into the box, unselfishly laid it off into the path of Salah. His first-time shot was parried over the bar by Pickford, as the keeper managed to get his notoriously short arms to it at full-stretch.
The visitors looked to be heading towards victory with only five minutes of added time remaining. A clash of heads between two Everton players resulted in the additional time being in the hands of the referee. Salah broke clear and went on a mazy run past most of the Everton team before being fouled just outside the box. Unbelievably, nothing was given and play was waved on.
Moyes’ side went down the other end and Mykolenko put a lofted cross into the box. It was flicked on to the back post, where Tarkowski arrived to smash the ball home and send Goodison Park into delirium. Eight minutes into added time, The Toffees had grabbed a point from the game. A subsequent VAR review took an age, as ever, before they confirmed the goal would stand.
As the full time whistle went, with 102 minutes on the clock, the drama continued. Doucoure celebrated in front of the Liverpool fans, leading to a confrontation with Jones. The referee sent both players off, before then showing Slot a red card as the pair shook hands in the middle of the pitch. While the points were shared, this was a classic Merseyside derby.
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