Origi cements legendary status with game-changing performance as Reds triumph in Merseyside derby

 

A shameless cynical game-plan from the Jose Mourinho playbook adopted by the Everton boss Frank Lampard and instilled into his relegation-threatened team may have frustrated Liverpool in the first half – absurd simulation, time-wasting, feigning injury – but, fortunately, for the integrity of football, it couldn’t be sustained into the second half and Jurgen Klopp’s men secured a 2-0 victory to keep pace with Manchester City at the top of the league, only a point behind with five matches each left to play.

Still, it took a bold double substitution from the Liverpool gaffer on 60 minutes – not the first time this season that Klopp has made changes relatively early in the game to clinical effect – bringing on the sparsely-used Divock Origi for Sadio Mané and Luis Diaz for Naby Keita – to decisively turn the scrap in the Reds’ favour.

Within two minutes of the changes, Mo Salah played a clever one-two with Origi in the Everton box before the Egyptian king clipped the ball to the far post, just over Diogo Jota but right onto the head of the onrushing Andy Roberston – Liverpool’s man of the match and player of the season – who bulleted the ball into the back of the net.

Apart from a shot outside of the area from Demarai Gray that whistled past the post, a good run to the byline from Dele Alli, whose cross was superbly intercepted from the retreating and ever-alert Robertson, and another Anthony Gordon dive in the box (the Everton striker was booked for a similar piece of theatricality in the first half), Everton didn’t look like or deserve to get themselves back into the game.

Nevertheless, these nervy moments for Liverpool were only allayed in the 85th minute when another chip to the far post, this time from Jordan Henderson, a sub for Jota, was met acrobatically from the hugely impressive Diaz and his scissors kick bounced into the path of Origi four yards out and he firmly met the ball with his forehead and lodged it into the top of the net.

Another vital and iconic goal for Origi, who it seems will leave for Inter Milan on a free in the summer, but will end his Anfield career as a fans’ favourite, a cult hero, an all-time Liverpool great.

Next up for Liverpool, in what will be two games a week until the end of the season, is the Champions League semi-final first leg tie on Wednesday against Villarreal.

Annoyingly for Klopp – who failed to get the timing of the match changed – Liverpool will then face in-form Newcastle away Saturday lunchtime.

It will be remarkable if Liverpool manage to claim a victory against the transformed Magpies, but a victory is what they will need if they are not to give any advantage to Manchester City, who easily overcame Watford 5-1 yesterday and play another weak opponent in Leeds after Liverpool’s game.

The quadruple remains on for Liverpool but it is the tallest of orders.

Realistically, the Reds’ best chances to add to the League Cup is in the other cup competitions they remain active in – the FA Cup (where they play Chelsea in the final) and the Champions League (where a final against Manchester City is likely).

The Premier League title to all intents and purposes requires not only that Liverpool win all their remaining fixtures but that Man City slip up.

It’s not impossible, but the Blues’ run-in is far more straightforward than Liverpool’s and Pep Guadiola’s side’s ability to steamroller weaker teams is undiminished.

Reds crush Everton in Merseyside derby

A superb and controlled performance by Liverpool in the Merseyside derby at Goodison Park saw the Reds come away with a convincing 4-1 win that gives cause for optimism that Liverpool will maintain a strong title challenge.

 

A lightening start from the Reds saw them nearly score three times before, on nine minutes, a neat interchange involving Sadio Mané and Andy Robertson on the left resulted in the Scot cutting the ball back to the edge of the Everton area where captain Jordan Henderson was waiting to calmly curl his shot with his left foot into the corner of the goal beyond the hand of the diving Jordan Pickford.

 

Everton looked incapable of keeping up with Liverpool. They tried to turn the game into a war, but Liverpool rose above this belligerence with their calm possession game.

 

Thus, when, on 19 minutes, the outstanding Mo Salah latched onto a perfect Henderson pass and ran into the box and knocked the ball high into the side of the net, Everton fans began to leave the ground, not wanting to watch what looked like would turn into a humiliating drubbing.

 

Yet, rather than Liverpool going on to score a third and fourth before half-time, out of nothing, on 38 minutes, Everton winger Damari Gray found himself one-on-one with Alisson Becker and put the ball between the keeper’s legs to get Everton back into the game.

 

Still, despite Everton’s goal, there was every reason to believe this was a blip and Everton – other than their plan of turning the game into a scrap rather than a football game – did not have the ability not only to get back into the game from an attacking point of view but also to keep Liverpool’s devastating attacking players quiet.

 

And, indeed, on 64 minutes, a clearance from an Everton corner got their captain Seamus Coleman into trouble on the halfway line.

 

Caught in several minds – to control the ball, whack it clear over his head or knock it back to Pickford – the Irishman ended up bobbling the ball into the path of the pressing Mo Salah, who sprinted away passed the hapless left back, in full control of the ball, before clipping it passed the advancing keeper into the corner of the net. A sensational goal.

 

The rout was completed on 79 minutes when Diogo Jota cleverly turned Allan in the Everton area, then lashed the ball high into the net to make it 4-1.

 

Jota’s goal gave Jurgen Klopp the chance to make several substations, which we’ve become used to: James Milner on for Henderson, Alex Oxlade Chamberlain replacing Thiago Alcantara and Taki Minamino for Jota. 

 

Joel Matip started ahead of Ibrahim Konate at centre back, alongside Virgil van Dijk, returning to the scene of the crime of Pickford’s outrageous challenge on him in last year’s equivalent fixture that ended the Dutchman’s season with a knee ligament injury.

 

Despite Liverpool’s outstanding performance and win, they still find themselves only third in the table with Manchester City and Chelsea show no signs of slipping up, beating Aston Villa and Watford away respectively. 

 

Next up for Liverpool is another away game, this time against Wolves, who are having a good season so far under the guidance of Bruno Lage, though in their midweek fixture the Black Country side were frustrated by lowly Burnley, who held out for a 0-0 draw.

New low for Liverpool as they lose Merseyside derby

 

A typically timid and tepid performance from Liverpool mixed with a pivotal injury and then a bizarre and idiotic penalty decision from an incompetent referee meant the Reds lost their fourth successive home game, this time against local rivals Everton.

A disastrous start saw Richarlison after three minutes outsmart the callow Ozan Kabak and burst into the penalty area where he easily beat Alisson Becker, who was slow in setting himself and left much of the right side of his goal exposed.

Liverpool responded with a strike by Trent Alexander Arnold and then a volley from Jordan Henderson, both of them well saved by Jordan Pickford, but these were rare moments of pressure from the Reds going forward.

Henderson, playing at centre back again, went down with a groin injury after 33 minutes and had to be replaced by Nat Phillips, putting the Liverpool captain on the treatment table alongside Virgil van Dijk, Joe Gomez, Joel Matip and Fabinho. You can call this bad luck, but Henderson was straining all game, trying to play both centre back and midfield and it was this extra exertion that cost him today. It bears repeating that Henderson is not a centre half and when he plays there, rather than in midfield, Liverpool are a shadow of the team they’ve been in the last two seasons, during which they’ve won the Champions League and the Premier League.

When Phillips came on, he played well, as he’s done every time he’s been called on by Jurgen Klopp, which begs the question how Kabak has got in ahead of Phillips or why Phillips was not trusted to partner Kabak and allow Henderson to take a position in midfield. Henderson’s replacement in midfield Thiago Alcantara put in another bloodless, meandering performance and Curtis Jones and Gini Wijnaldum were no better. Liverpool’s midfield was crying out for Henderson’s urgency and passion, but the captain’s injury now means the sluggish three in the middle are likely to see an extended run together. Perhaps the now-fit Naby Keita will be able to provide something different with his driving runs into threatening areas. Neither Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain or Xherdan Shaqiri, who came on for Jones after 63 minutes, have looked as if they have the answers to Liverpool’s creativity and penetration problems.

The first 10 minutes of the second half saw Liverpool step up the pace, with some good play from Trent Alexander Arnold, but Salah, Mané and Firmino never looked like taking the chances that fell to them. Awful to say, but Firmino may be finished as a top-class striker. Not only did he miss the chances that came his way, but he made a hash of them. Liverpool are clearly missing Diogo Jota and the decision to allow Takumi Minamino to go out on loan to Southampton – where he has scored two goals in three games – now looks flawed.

At 0-1, there was always a hope that Liverpool could conjure up something that would earn a draw, salvage pride and keep Everton at bay in the race for the top four. This was forgotten on the 83rd minute when Everton substitute Dominic Calvin-Lewin went through on goal after a pass from Richarlison. Alisson saved well, then the Toffees’ striker, going for the rebound, stumbled over Alexander Arnold, kneeing him in the head. To the naked eye, it looked like a penalty but the replay clearly showed an accidental collision and no foul and VAR advised the referee, Chris Kavanagh, to review his decision on the screen at the side of the pitch. The whole world expected Kavanagh to see his obvious but understandable mistake, only for the referee, after a cursory glance, to decide he was right first time and award a penalty. An attempt by Kavanagh to show authority and decisiveness demonstrated, instead, his foolishness and poor judgment. Gylfi Sigurdsson scored from the spot and Liverpool were so demoralised that the remainder of the game passed without much of a response from them.

The Reds remain sixth on 40 points. Everton have the same number of points in seventh, with a game in hand. Liverpool are still in a fair position to challenge for fourth. Chelsea who are currently in the last Champions League place are only three points ahead of the Reds, having drawn 1-1 with Southampton in today’s early kickoff. However, playing like they’ve been playing for the last two months and without Klopp taking the decision to play centre backs as centre backs and midfielders as midfielders, then there’s no reason to expect that Liverpool's form will pick up dramatically and they'll finish where necessary.

Reds denied by VAR whims in Merseyside derby

Gylfi Sigurdsson was on the centre spot ready to restart the final seconds of another stoppage-time and self-inflicted derby defeat for Everton. Jürgen Klopp, having filled the empty stands of Goodison Park with a boom of delight when Jordan Henderson struck Liverpool’s winner in the 92nd minute, was cajoling his players back into position. Then the referee, Michael Oliver, stopped. Everything stopped; the restart, the defeat and the victory. All wiped away by the ruinous influence of VAR.

When Oliver awarded a free-kick to Everton for a barely detectable offside against Sadio Mané, and not the goal everyone inside the stadium believed had been scored, the blue contingent dotted around the directors’ box leapt into the air. As well they might, unaccustomed as they are to outrageous fortune in the Merseyside derby. Everton’s 10-year wait for a win over Liverpool goes on but this time without complaint.

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Reds inch closer to title after Everton draw

Jürgen Klopp said Liverpool did not create enough chances to win the Merseyside derby, after a goalless stalemate at Goodison Park postponed his side’s title coronation for a few days more.

“We gained a point and it was one we deserved, but Everton had the biggest chance to win near the end,” the Liverpool manager said. “I was pleased with the performance after so long out, physically we were ready and defensively we were solid, but offensively we needed more moments if we were going to win the match.

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Liverpool kids go through in FA Cup derby

Curtis Jones said his stunning winner for Liverpool against Everton at Anfield in the FA Cup was beyond his wildest dreams as Jürgen Klopp savoured the triumph of a line-up packed with inexperienced players. Jones struck with a curler into the top corner from outside the area in the 71st minute to give Liverpool a 1-0 win – it was the 18-year-old’s first senior goal – and he admitted that it was overwhelming.

“I dream of a lot of things but this one was ahead of a dream,” Jones said. “I can’t sum up my emotions. There are world-class players all over this team but I think I went out and showed what I could do. The ball came to me and I only had one thing in mind – to shoot. It’s massive for me and the rest of the young boys. At times it’s frustrating thinking you might get a chance but then having to sit on the bench and watch.”

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Reds falter again in derby draw

Jürgen Klopp beat the Liver bird on his chest in front of Liverpool fans gathered in the Bullens Road stand but the noise that pulsated around Goodison Park after the final whistle emanated elsewhere. Everton’s arduous wait for victory in a Merseyside derby goes on but they found ample compensation in damaging their rivals’ bid for the Premier League title.

On a local level the 233rd Merseyside derby brought solace for Liverpool in terms of extending their unbeaten run to a record 17 matches and closer to the nine-year anniversary of their last defeat by Everton. But Liverpool are not competing on a local level this season, not when a first league championship since 1990 stands tantalisingly on the horizon. By that rarefied standard this represented a dispiriting trip across Stanley Park for Klopp. The comfort belonged to Marco Silva and his committed team who, as the noise levels that greeted an otherwise forgettable goalless draw testified, departed the happier by far.

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Wijnaldum: Origi deserves moment of glory

Gini Wijnaldum says Divock Origi deserved his “beautiful” moment in the spotlight for the attitude and commitment he has shown during a tough period in his Liverpool career.

The former Lille striker capitalised on a mistake from Jordan Pickford to bag a 96th-minute winner against Everton at Anfield.

Origi, who came off the bench to make his first Premier League appearance for 16 months, was mobbed by his team-mates and his name was chanted vociferously by jubilant supporters.

Wijnaldum believes it's reward for how Origi has responded to being down the pecking order so far this season.

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Reds win derby with late Origi goal

Liverpool's Divock Origi scored a bizarre 96th-minute goal in sensational circumstances as a terrible Jordan Pickford error gifted the Reds victory over Everton in the Merseyside derby at Anfield. 

It sent his manager Jurgen Klopp sprinting onto the pitch to hug goalkeeper Alisson and the fans into raptures, but was cruel on Everton, who had at times played the more adventurous football in a lively encounter. 

The 232nd meeting between the city rivals was heading for a draw when Pickford mishandled a sliced Virgil van Dijk shot that had ballooned high up into the air. 

It seemed set to land on top of his net, but the England keeper clawed the ball back down from above his crossbar and spilled it out to Origi.

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