Liverpool 1 Everton 1 - "Three thoughts" by Paul Natton

1. That was daylight robbery

What a rip off that result was. Everton were absolutely no threat whatsoever for virtually the entire match until Jagielka sweetly hit a one in a thousand chance he'd balloon the other 999 times he tried it. It feels like a massive slug in the guts off a little gimp you wouldn't normally blink twice at because Everton were nowhere near troubling us at any other point in the game.

In fact, we pretty much dominated the entire match, albeit without really peppering Howard's goal. The 4231 shape seemed to suit us better than it has all season so far, although that could be to do with Everton declining to press Gerrard as other sides have done (even though Gerrard and Henderson swapped roles quite a few times anyway in anticipation of such a move). The one thing that was lacking throughout though was the final ball. At least we managed to get in behind an opposing defence today, but we couldn't really make it tell. Good approach work from the likes of Sterling, Balotelli and especially Lallana ultimately led to nothing with the goal only coming from a sublime right foot of a shot from the captain as he whipped a free kick into the top right hand corner of the goal at the Anny Road end.

At the other end, they offered virtually no threat to speak of whatsoever. They understandably tried to put Lukaku on Moreno to take advantage of the mismatch in physique, but the young Spaniard handled his opponent brilliantly (bar one slip up at the death) and I thought it odd that Martinez didn't switch focus onto our centre halves. Certainly they've been our most obvious Achilles heel this season but were given little to think about today even when Eto'o finally came on for the last ten minutes to play through the middle.

In short, this should have been three points. That said, we can bleat all we like about lucky goals against the run of play, but ultimately we need to offer more of an attacking threat. Without Sturridge we look toothless and that has to change soon or we'll pay a heavy price this season.

2. How can you still look raw at 24 years old?

As far as being toothless goes, attention must fall on the man up front. Don't get me wrong, I like Balotelli and he's clearly trying to change his game to play in a more Liverpool-compatible way; certainly he's putting in more of a shift than he has at any other club he's played for (although that doesn't mean he's anything remotely like where we need him to be). However, he just looks very, very raw to me - like a 16 or 17 year old who has barely been coached in the wiles of the professional game.

His movement is truly bizarre at times, often dropping deeper and away from the penalty area even when we're surging forward as a team - even at one point being urged forward by Adam Lallana who was desperate to play him in. Equally, his behaviour at defensive corners is mystifying. There's no laziness or dishonesty from him when doing a job on the back foot for us, but he seems completely unable to stay in even the vague proximity of his man, never mind get tight.

The one area where I am disappointed with him though is in his finishing. He is simply not working goal keepers enough for a top class international forward and should definitely have scored today rather than hit the crossbar from a few feet out. We've got little choice but to persevere with him and I'm sure we will see great improvements given time (not least when he's paired with Daniel Sturridge for a run of games); it's just frustrating though that we're not getting more right now because we need an alternative goal threat in the absence of the main man.

3. Despite the disappointment, there are some small signs of improvement to cling to

The intensity was back today and that was great to see, even though you'd be horrified if it was missing in a derby match. Furthermore the defence seemed to be much more composed with Skrtel and Lovren marshalling the line in tandem and keeping the two young full backs focused on their positioning. As I've already mentioned, they had little to do. However, I remain pleased because their shape was right throughout and there were no glaring cock ups that I noticed (have I just damned them with faint praise there?). Moreno was superb against Lukaku and Manquillo equally comfortable on his flank.

Further comfort came from the energy and burgeoning form of Lallana. He looks like a class act to me: great feet and balance, a clever and composed mind, and the ability to pop up all over the place knitting the play together wherever he appears. That he stayed the course until the end was also very encouraging in the light of his recent return from injury. Indeed he put his fitness fully to the test as he surpassed even the might of the vice captain in his harrying of opponents.

If Lazar Markovic is currently looking like a little boy in a man's shirt (adapting to the pressure of playing for us remains something some Reds find hard to accept, but it's quite obviously an issue for many new players), that was balanced by the fact that everyone else seemed focused and aware of what was required. I gained the distinct impression that the changes Brendan has made to both personnel and shape were starting to galvanise on the pitch today. There's a lot more to come in that regard, but at least things are creeping forward.

I can't pretend I wasn't really fed up at full time today because I was - and indeed remain so. However, there are signs appearing that indicate we might be able to turn a corner in the next week or so as we get key men back in the side and new players bed in further. Let's just hope we can negotiate the hurdles in the meantime though because it won't be too long before results start to become definitive in terms of our final league placing.

Still the games come thick and fast this season so at least we'll have another chance on Wednesday night to get the campaign firing. Come on you Reds!

Paul Natton

@OxtonSoulBoy