Until Wayne Rooney drove his penalty kick into the back of the Liverpool net, Jurgen Klopp must have been feeling pretty pleased with himself here at Anfield.
There was no Fab Four. Liverpool’s manager had decided to break up the band for this Merseyside derby. But instead we were treated to a quite brilliant solo act, Mohamed Salah scoring a superb first half goal that more than demonstrated his devastating ability as the Premier League’s leading goalscorer.
For Klopp it must have been particularly satisfying, not least when he so objects to the focus on Salah, Philippe Coutinho, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mane. He considers it disrespectful to his other players and does not like the suggestion that there is an over-reliance on the attacking quartet.
Everton pulled level with 13 minutes to play after Wayne Rooney converted a penalty given against Dejan Lovren
Mo Salah curled in a brilliant opener just before half-time to give Liverpool the advantage in the Merseyside Derby
The Egyptian showed great touch and strength to hold of the Everton defence before striking past keeper Jordan Pickford
MATCH FACTS, LEAGUE TABLE AND MATCH ZONE
Liverpool (4-3-3): Mignolet; Gomez, Lovren, Klavan, Robertson; Oxlade-Chamberlain (Coutinho 77), Henderson, Milner; Salah (Firmino 67), Solanke (Ings 82), Mane
Unused Subs: Karius, Alexander-Arnold, Wijnaldum, Can
Goal: Salah 43
Booking: Lovren 77
Everton (4-4-2): Pickford; Kenny, Holgate, Williams, Martina; Rooney (Jagielka 82), Gueye, Davies (Schneiderlin 46), Sigurdsson; Calvert-Lewin, Niasse (Lennon 46)
Unused Subs: Joel, Keane, Vlasic, Lookman
Goal: Rooney pen 77
Bookings: Sigurdsson 36, Gueye 41, Schneiderlin 85
Referee: Craig Pawson (South Yorkshire)
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After 42 minutes of frustration, Liverpool finally broke Everton down with a moment of magic by Mo Salah. For more stats and facts, check out our exclusive MATCH ZONE service by clicking here.
So when Salah struck after 42 minutes to mark a dominant first half display, the decision to leave the two Brazilians on the bench looked like a smart move if he meant giving them a much-needed break.
Trouble was, Liverpool did not build on their advantage and one decent ball from Rooney and suddenly Liverpool’s defence were in trouble. With Dominic Calvert-Lewin set to get their first Dejan Lovren panicked, shoving the young Everton striker in the back and conceding the 77th minute penalty that Rooney then converted. It was foolish from Lovren given that Calvert-Lewin was actually running away from goal.
It will not only leave Klopp open to accusations that he was unwise to gamble in such an important fixture, one that could have seen them cement their position in the top four on a weekend when Arsenal and Chelsea had dropped points, but must have left the German hugely frustrated.
Liverpool were so in control of this encounter. In the first half Jordan Henderson completed 60 passes, which was four more than Everton in total, but opportunities were not seized and in the end Allardyce was left to reflect on another result that will build some much-needed confidence in his new team.
Pickford and Ashley Williams are left helpless by the brilliance of Salah, who continued his sensational form this season
Liverpool dominated possession and chances at a snow-streaked Anfield and Salah’s opening goal was well deserved
Salah celebrates his goal in front of the jubilant home crowd as the visitors struggled to cope with Liverpool’s attack
Salah celebrates his goal, which came from one of 12 shots Liverpool had in the first half – it was the only one on target
Everton were predictably cautious, with Allardyce clearly hoping to build on back to back victories by taking another precious point here.
It was not pretty. The sight of Jordan Pickford hoofing the ball at every opportunity; of Wayne Rooney performing defensive duties and making a pretty good fist of it in fairness. At one stage Everton’s captain battled admirably with James Milner, sending his former England team-mate crashing into the advertising hoardings. Milner winced with pain.
The game had a distinctly English feel, and not just because of the snow that descended relentlessly on the perfect Anfield playing surface.
There were 11 Englishmen in the two starting line-ups and 13 British players in all, with a healthy sprinkling of young players now attracting the attention of England manager Gareth Southgate. For Dominic Solanke and Dominic Calvert-Lewin, team-mates in that Under-20 World Cup winning side and now leading the attack for the two teams here, it represented a wonderful opportunity.
The game was by no means lacking in intensity. Jordan Henderson was quick to make his presence felt against Tom Davies, leaving the young Everton midfielder nursing sore ribs. Henderson, however, would soon be suffering with a sore ankle of his own when he was caught late by Gylfi Sigurdsson. The Icelandic international was booked and rightly so.
Lovren was penalised after Craig Pawson judged that he had pushed over Dominic Calvert-Lewin – it was a controversial call
Rooney fired in his first goal against Liverpool in an Everton shirt, leaving Simon Mignolet with no chance from the spot
The Everton captain looked to have bagged his side a point in a derby match where they were mostly on the back foot
Liverpool were struggling to break their neighbours down and the atmosphere suffered as a result, their cause not helped by the absence of their brilliant Brazilians.
For all Liverpool’s possession, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain was certainly struggling to make an impact, but such is the talent in this Liverpool side, all it required was one moment of brilliance and once again it came in the form of Salah.
It really was a marvellous goal; a terrific combination of strength, balance, skill and intelligence. After collecting a pass from the excellent Joe Gomez, some players might have opted to go down under the challenge that then came from Cuco Martina, but Salah stayed on his feet, turned away from him, slipped inside Idrissa Gueye and then used Ashley Williams to shield his curling left-foot shot from Pickford’s view. By the time Pickford had reacted the ball had sailed past him into into the top corner of his net.
With Everton now forced to display a bit more ambition – Allardyce pushed Rooney further forward – they suddenly seemed all the more vulnerable. Sadio Mane really should have doubled Liverpool’s advantage before the break but dragged his shot wide. Salah then threatened shortly after the break with a header that bounced only narrowly off target.
Further chances followed. A teasing Oxlade-Chamberlain cross just eluded Mane and Gomez also went close after meeting a Salah free-kick with a decent header.
In the end Klopp sent on both Firmino and Coutinho – Danny Ings too – but to no avail. To Rooney’s equaliser there was no reply.
Sadio Mane should have doubled Liverpool’s lead before the break, but instead of squaring to the free Salah he shot wide
Salah continued to terrorise Everton after the break, missing a big chance for 2-0 when he headed wide at the back post
Rooney started the game in midfield for Sam Allardyce’s first away game since being appointed Everton boss
James Milner played in midfield, giving him licence to get forward – here he has a volley blocked by Rooney and Tom Davies
As usual the derby was feisty with plenty of hard tackles. Here Gylfi Sigurdsson is booked for a foul on Jordan Henderson
Mane attempts an overhead kick around the hour mark – an indication of how comfortable Liverpool were at that stage
Philippe Coutinho was surprisingly left on the Liverpool bench as Dominic Solanke started in place of the Brazilian
Roberto Firmino was also on the bench, as only two members of Liverpool’s ‘Fab Four’ attack – Mane and Salah – started
Jurgen Klopp celebrates the opener, which came in a half where Liverpool enjoyed a massive 80 per cent of possession
Allardyce watches on alongside assistant Sammy Lee – a former Reds player and coach, whose appointment has split fans