On the bright day at Goodison park,the final result was 1-1 with Liverpool’s Danny Ings and Everton’s Romelu Lukaku being the scorers.
The first half lived up to the expectations of a derby match with both the teams showing grit,intent.In the first half Liverpool were the better team,with Everton looking nervy,rabbits in headlights.In the first half LFC pressed high up the pitch,generating consistent threats and Everton was trying to get the ball up the field quickly in response to LFC pressing.
No need to try and draw the D out when its rushing onto you.Danny Ings scored the opener from a James Milner corner,making LFC 1 up.But,there was no defensive discipline from Liverpool,the LFC defense being as stable as a Kim Kardashian marriage,the LFC defense conceded a goal at 45th minute(Lukaku).
There were blood boiling,shoving,heated exchanges to add spice to the derby,withCan,Sakho seemed to have been controlled by Scouser spirits.In the 2nd half,Liverpool was listless and Everton seemed to be content with a draw.Lallana for a striker,Allen for DM,Ibe at wingback,Can as CB-Rodgers did what he does best.Liverpool lost points.Square pegs round holes again Brendan.
Here are the player ratings of both the teams:
LIVERPOOL:
Mignolet-7/10
Made world class saves.Seemed like a man possessed.On 28th minute,Sakho’s worldclass nonmarking left Naismith completely unmarked,Mignolet made a worldclass save.On 30th minute Migno made another top save from Mccarthy shot. Migs was not at much fault for the goal conceded.
Can-6/10
Started playing on the D again,looked good in defense.Made 2 very good interceptions in the first half.Though,he goal was conceded because of his error.Can failed to clear Deulofeu’s cross,that resulted in the goal.Was pumped up,got yellow carded.Tried a stunning overhead kick
Skrtel- 5/10
Seemed to be the sore thumb of Liverpool defense.Got injured,got up,showed fight.Covered Lukaku well,but Skrtel fired the ball straight to Lukaku,with Lukaku scoring.At fault with the goal.Skrtel tried to be peacemaker in the Can-Barkley fight.We say the iconic ‘’Skrtel pulls the shirt of the guy who scored’’ celebration too.
Sakho-7/10
Sakho was composed,was good.His pass completion rate was above 90%.Trolled Alan Smith for clinging on the myth that Sakho is uncomfortable on the ball.Almost good into fight with Lukaku.
Moreno-8/10
Has been a star of this season,runs up and down the flank.Moreno was energised,Moreno created more chances than Clyne.Though Clyne,the other wingback got forward more.Moreno linked up very well with the forwards.
Lucas-7/10
Initially was sloppy,jogged back after Lukaku in initial minutes.Later,put a good display,was calm and constructive on the ball.Made good tackles,competed with Mccarthy with elan.5 successful tackles he made in the match
Milner-6/10
Pass completion rate was near 60%,but made 4 key passes.Assisted the goal.Played neat one-twos,but overall,had a forgettable game.
Coutinho-6/10
Picked out Sturridge,Ings and even Moreno well.Played good one-twos,offered delicate balls to other forwards,but didn’t had an exceptional game and needed to be on the set-pieces too.
Danny Ings-7.5/10
Showed stamina,passion,determination,eye for goal.Showed wonderful work rate.The danny dingle scored in his first derby.’’He is inked/he will score before you blinked/he is Danny Ings’’
Daniel Sturridge 6/10
Looked threatening in the first half,got 2 good chances to score.But,for the last 50 minutes he seemed to be a ghost.Off the pace and almost non-existent.
SUBS:
Lallana-5/10
Allen-6/10
EVERTON:
Tim Howard – 6/10
Brilliantly tackled and saved to stop James Milner twice.Distribution was bad.Was at fault for the goal conceded.
Browning-6.5/10
Composed,reliable,made fine tackles
Jagielka-8/10
Pick of the players.Made fantastic interceptions,tackles,read the game well.Blocked incoming shots with delicacy
Funes Mori-6.5/10
Not elegant,but solid,reliable,worked in-sync with Jagielka well
Galloway-6.5/10
Raw,fantastic display,showed good technique
McCarthy-6.5/10
Calm,did defensive works,as well as pressed to form build-up play,pounced upon the chances
Barry -6/10
Slow but very reliable,bringing all his experiences
Deulofeu-6/10
His cross made the way for Lukaku to score.Didn’t have much of an impact otherwise
Naismith-6/10
Should have scored.Was not the same Naismith against Chelsea,showed good work rate
Barkley-6.5/10
Patchy performance.Got into arguments with Can and Lallana.Deserved two yellow cards.Took a good freekick
Lukaku-7.5/10-
Took his goal well,was a consistent threat
To conclude,let’s talk about the managers.Roberto Martinez was decent,didn’t make tactical errors.Showed if Coutinho is double-marked,Liverpool will lose its shape.Whereas ,Rodgers made wrong changes and played Emre can as RCB,when he is a CM.The lack of discipline in defence is down to management as well.Rodgers is gradually becoming a meme for opposite teams.These days,Rodgers wears black tie,looks like an undertaker is dealing with the death of his career.Right.