And to think I was actually worried about this one! In my defence, I think there were some good reasons to have some trepidation about the game, but the team selection wasn’t one of them. Not for me anyway. Far from it.
It’s easy to say now with the benefit of hindsight, but I didn’t have any issue with the five changes made by Klopp. In fact, when I saw the team I felt more relaxed about our chances than I had before. Tiredness was one of the main reasons I wasn’t feeling overly confident, but those changes alleviated those fears.
I know a lot of Reds will have been concerned about Salah and Firmino being left out, but it genuinely didn’t bother me one bit. In the Brighton report on Monday I called for Divock to be given a start, and although we haven’t seen Shaq in months he must have been looking sharp in training or Klopp wouldn’t have picked him. This was the front three that smashed Barcelona, so there was no reason to think they wouldn’t be up to the task of beating Everton.
Origi has history against the Blues at Anfield. He’s like a modern day Rushy in this fixture. Evertonians no doubt see him in their nightmares. He’s the bogeyman to them, and I’m sure he knows it too. Not playing him would have been daft really. Lallana was a surprise inclusion, but again, that didn’t bother me.
So why was I going all Han Solo and telling everyone “I have a bad feeling about this”? A few reasons really. History being one of them. We went into the game having equalled our longest ever unbeaten league run. The last time, that run was ended by Everton. Now we’re playing them again, on the exact same number of unbeaten games as last time? What are the odds on that? That type of thing always unnerves me.
Of course, Everton were actually good back then and that game was at Goodison. This was at Anfield, where Everton haven’t won for 20 years. That unnerved me too though. Eventually they will win at Anfield, and with everyone talking about how the gap between the clubs is as big as it’s been in decades, it felt like we were ripe for an upset.
The main thing that had me sweating though was how we’ve been playing, and specifically how tired I thought we looked against Brighton. That’s why I felt more confident when I saw the team.
It was a really weird game though. The way we played in that first half was strange, and nothing like what we’ve seen all season. It was like we’d turned the clock back two years. This was the return of “the Red Arrows”.
It’s funny really because I had been talking about exactly this with the lads as we walked through Stanley Park beforehand. We’ve gone from a team that would be thrilling to watch and win 4-0, 5-2, 4-1, 6-0 before then losing 1-0 to some deadbeat relegation fodder, to one that isn’t as exciting but grinds out win after win and doesn’t drop ANY points.
Obviously I prefer what we are now, but I can’t deny that I miss that swashbuckling side that would go the length of the field in six seconds and completely rip the opponents’ heart out. This is what we were discussing beforehand. One of the things I said was how not so long ago we were more dangerous from opponents’ corners than they were. Remember that Arsenal game when we kept running the length of the field on them and scoring?
Those type of goals had become less frequent, perhaps due to opponents becoming gun shy and taking more precautions, or perhaps because of us becoming a little more pragmatic. I don’t know the reason, I just know that we haven’t seen as much of those devastatingly fast, length of the field attacks over the last year or so and I was saying how I miss them.
They were back with a vengeance in this game though. Fucking hell. It was exhilarating stuff. Unfortunately, the defensive fragility that often proved to be our undoing was also in evidence. There are some mitigating circumstances for that though I suppose.
It might just have been a result of how the flow of the game went (and quite possibly because of the number of changes we made) or it may have been a deliberate tactical ploy, but it just seemed like every time we got the ball we were on a crusade to score within ten seconds. There was none of the controlled possession and patient build up that has become a staple of how we play.
It was just, get the ball, ping a 40 yard diagonal over their defence and everyone charge towards their box. I’m not complaining, as there’s nothing more thrilling than watching the Reds do that and it paid off four times in the first half. It did come at something of a cost though, because I felt as though Everton could score any time they got near our box. We were too open and there was space everywhere for them.
The change in system and personnel to a 4-2-3-1 is probably the main reason, but I also think it was a result of the lads getting a little bit swept away by the ease with which they were slicing Everton open and maybe forgetting about being compact and restricting the space in front of the defence. Not having Fabinho or Henderson in there was clearly a contributing factor to that as well. It’s not a knock on Gini or Milner (who were both class), but they bring different qualities to Fabinho (and indeed Hendo).
The second half was much better in terms of control and solidity and the only minor complaint I had was it took so long to get the final, killer goal. While it was 4-2 the Blues still had hope and were only one flukey goal or bad decision away from being right back in the game. A fifth goal would have killed them and probably led to more.
In truth, the damage was done in the first half and Everton were never coming back from that. It must have been soul destroying for them to see the manner that we put them to the sword. They didn’t defend well and were wide open to balls in behind, but they can consider themselves unlucky to concede four goals that were close to footballing perfection. On another day, none of those go in, because every one of those goals had a piece of individual brilliance in them that you don’t often see.
Let’s go through them one by one. The first goal starts in our own box. Robbo heads the ball out, Lallana collects it and feeds Sadio who has room to run down the left. He carries it forward and sees the run made by Origi, but the Blues defence are all in a good position and Pickford is out of his goal ready to deal with any overhit pass.
It’s an almost impossible ball to play as it needs to be perfectly weighted and perfectly placed. Anything less than that and we can’t score. The pass is incredible and Divock was able to run onto it without breaking stride, and because of how far out Pickford is that touch kills him and leaves Origi with an empty net. I don’t actually think there’s anything Everton could have done to prevent that, it’s just world class forward play.
The second goal was even better. Again it started on the edge of our box when Lovren made an interception and cleverly used his left foot to nudge the ball round the corner to Trent. Then we saw one of the passes of the season. Most footballers can produce a switch of play, but there are only a handful who can do it like that. The trajectory and pace on the ball is the thing that made the goal really.
If it had been a lofted ball out to Mané, that extra second or two allows defenders to get back and get themselves set. The ball took about a millisecond to get from Trent’s boot to Sadio’s though. It was an incredible pass. Sadio then drove at the defence and waited for the runners before rolling it into space for Shaq to run onto and divert past Pickford. Again, Everton’s defending wasn’t exactly bad, they were just undone by world class play.
There were Evertonians in the away end who left as soon as that went in. I watched them heading for the exits and thought “what the fuck did you even come here for?”.
There was a blue sat next to me. He was nervously fidgeting all the time he was there, constantly looking at the away end and checking his phone to see what his mates were saying. I’m sure he was on the verge of walking out just before they scored. He had enough respect for where he was that he didn’t jump up and instead he just sat there quietly clenching his fists, but when it went to 3-1 it was all too much for him and he left.
That just shows how broken they are and how 20 years of Anfield misery has left them completely scarred. I actually thought they gave it a good go in the first half and were just undone by our brilliance. They got men forward and looked threatening, but the problem was the more they attacked the more exposed they became.
The third goal was one where they could look at themselves and say they should do better. Basically they got done by a ball over the top. Even so, they can still feel a little bit hard done to because it still took a stunning piece of skill for Divock to convert the long ball into a goal. Lovren’s pass was right on the money but that first touch from Origi was ridiculous, bettered only by the finish that immediately followed.
The technique to do something like that never fails to amaze me. The balance, agility and touch some of these footballers have is incredible, but it’s not something that would usually be associated with Divock. That was a Sturridge type goal. Or a Bergkamp even. Just so graceful.
Origi’s touch and technique is vastly under-rated but that’s because we don’t see it on a consistent enough basis. He’s got all the tools to be a top player, he just needs to put it together on a more regular basis. Maybe we can hypnotise him into thinking he’s facing Everton every week? Or play him through the middle and not out wide.
The goals just kept on getting better and better, and the fourth one in first half stoppage time might be the pick of the bunch just because of how thrilling it was. That’s probably my own personal bias though, as nothing gets my juices flowing quite like a counter attack goal from an opposition corner. It was glorious.
Virgil headed it out (as Richarlison took his customary dive looking for a pen) to Sadio, while Trent raced past him on the overlap. I thought Mané should have just knocked it around the corner for him first time, and when he turned inside I thought he’d lose the ball. He didn’t, he just completely skinned Iwobi and then released Trent who had acres of open space in front of him.
Shaqiri was all alone in the centre and there was only one defender back trying to cover the two v one counter. I expected the ball to go to Shaq but Trent must have decided the ball was too difficult so he just kept hold of it until Sadio caught up with him, and just rolls it into his path. Still, that finish was really difficult. It’s on his left side, he’s running full tilt and he needed to adjust his feet to get himself set. He still found the bottom corner with a first time side foot shot. Again, Evertonians would be entitled to think he had no right to score from that position, but he did.
Four truly world class goals and the Blues were reeling. That’s why it’s so irritating that we gave up that soft goal with the final kick of the half. It was a proper scabby little goal too, as Richarlison attempted a diving header and the ball hit his shoulder and flew past Adrian. Their first had been scrappy as fuck too, as three or four times the ball bounced in their favour before Michael Keane pounced on a loose ball to beat Adrian.
Their goals weren’t pretty but they weren’t entirely undeserved either. Well, two goals was probably more than their play warranted, but they did cause us problems and we didn’t deserve to keep a clean sheet. We never keep clean sheets these days anyway, but we don’t usually let two in so that’s annoying.
At half time I didn’t really know how to feel. I was buzzing about the goals we’d scored, but the lack of control and failure to just keep the ball and take the sting out of the game was pissing me off. It just shows the standards we’ve set that being 4-2 up in a derby game didn’t have me cock a hoop.
There was a bit of needle in the game too and predictably the Blues felt hard done by when it came to decisions. They wanted a red card fro Trent for a stamp on Richardson. Nonsense. The Brazilian went flying into Trent who had to jump to avoid being clattered. He didn’t deliberately stamp on him, but he didn’t try to avoid landing on him either, which is fine because why should he have? Richarlison was reckless and got what he deserved.
They wanted Robbo sent off for roughing up Davies too. Again, not a chance. Robbo is falling on top of Davies and allows his arm to land on the back of his head. He could have avoided it and he knew what he was doing, but you can’t send someone off for that as he didn’t move his elbow towards the head of Davies, it was the natural position for his arm as he fell. Davies jumped up and shoved him, and Robbo just laughed right in his face.
He’s a little bastard isn’t he? He did the same to Kyle Walker the other week when he gave him a little shove and then wound him up just by laughing right in his face. He’s my hero, I love everything about him.
They also wanted a penalty and red card for Virgil. The penalty shout I get, but it’s complete madness to be talking about a red card. Calvert-Lewin is in the act of shooting when he’s challenged by Virgil. If you want to argue that it’s a penalty, that’s a discussion worth having. I don’t think I’ve ever seen a defender given a red card for something like that though, yet Jermaine Jeans and Danny Murphy both reckon it should have been a sending off. Fucking loons.
I do think it was a pen though. At the time I didn’t because it just looked like Virgil leaned into him with his shoulder as he tried to shoot. The replay showed he tripped him as well though. Mike Dean said no penalty and then our mate Martin Atkinson on the VAR agreed. Top ref him, always rated him highly.
Seriously, had the roles been reversed then Everton would have had a penalty as Atkinson wouldn’t have been able to blow that whistle quick enough. He was powerless though because as I mentioned in the diary last week, it would take a brave man to over-rule Mike Dean.
Overall Dean had a good game. He probably should have given them a pen for that, but it’s the boy who cried wolf isn’t it? Calvert-Lewin just dives constantly, it’s his main attribute as a footballer. He’s a one trick pony, and that one trick is jumping into the nearest defender and then hitting the deck. He did it to Robbo in this game, and both Dean and the linesman fell for it and gave the free-kick.
Robbo was seething and even went to explain to the linesman at half time exactly what had happened. It couldn’t have been more obvious. it’s the same shit he pulled to get a penalty against Lovren a couple of years back. Maybe that was in Dean’s head when he went down under the challenge from Virgil?
The second half was more low key. Less confrontations and less goalmouth incidents. Sadio missed two great chances after twice being picked out by substitute Hendo (who was brilliant after replacing Lallana). The first one he shot wide, and the second one he twice stayed on his feet after being impeded as he went around Pickford. By rights he should have had a penalty for that, but it’s hard for the ref to give a foul when the player doesn’t go down.
The Blues had a glorious chance to score immediately after Sadio’s miss, when Iwobi sent Moises Khan clean through. Thankfully he shot just wide, because if that had gone in then the last ten minutes would have been hairy as fuck.
In the end we eventually put the icing on the cake when Bobby made a fool of Holgate and picked out Gini, who found the bottom corner with an accurate low drive. Nice for Bobby to get his revenge on Holgate after that appalling incident in the cup game a couple of years ago. Bobby probably didn’t even give it a second thought, but the rest of us did. Very sweet moment that.
So alls well that ends well. A new club record, another three points, another year without an Everton win at Anfield. Things are pretty fucking sweet for us right now, which is in stark contrast to what’s happening with the Blues.
Marco Silva will be gone by the time you read this. He can have no real complaints, but one thing I would say is that those players were trying. They haven’t quit on him so he hasn’t “lost the dressing room”. They gave it a go against us but the fact of the matter is they just aren’t very good.
There are some players in that side who are genuinely terrible. Championship standard players at best. Holgate, Davies, Sidibi and Calvert-Lewin do not belong on a Premier League pitch. Digne and Richarlison are the only two good players they have (Coleman too, when he’s fit) and they’re nothing special either.
They’re in the bottom three now (with four tough games to come) and depending on who they bring in, they might actually go down. I’d say it’s unlikely but it’s not impossible. Moyes would probably keep them up but it would be such a depressing, backwards move for them to bring him back. Imagine being a Blue, it’s just such a fucking utterly abject, miserable existence. There is no light at the end of the tunnel, just darkness, rats and the smell of piss.
I’ve reached a point where I don’t even want to gloat anymore. It’s not so much that I feel bad for them (I don’t, not at all), it’s more that they have reached such a low ebb now that I’d feel bad about myself if I mocked them, as it almost feels like bullying.
It’s ok to take the piss out someone for having jug ears or a big chin, but you don’t mock someone in a wheelchair, or with special needs, because it makes you a cunt. This isn’t quite the same thing, I know that, but in terms of the principle of it, it’s similar. To me, Everton have gone beyond the point where I can justify ripping the piss out of them. Now I just feel like it’s piling on them unnecessarily.
Of course that doesn’t mean I didn’t laugh at (or join in with) the repeated airings of the “Merry Christmas Everton” song and I fucking loved the “We’re gonna have a party when Tottenham win the cup” chant too. They had that coming and it’s one of the most stinging burns I can remember. Probably up there with “Always look on the bright side of life” when we stopped United winning the league at Anfield.
Taunting a team with their own song is always savage, but this was particularly brutal as it was a reminder of just how sad their behaviour at the end of last season was. Wanting Spurs to win was perfectly natural. Nothing wrong with that. Taking Man City flags to games and singing for Spurs though just makes you a sad cunt, and the chant from the Kop will have been close to the bone. There’s no comeback to that, you just have to sit there and listen to it, while wallowing in your own misery.
So the piss taking during the game I’m more than happy to partake in. Inside the stadium, during a game, alls fair in love and war and that. Afterwards though, day to day, I just can’t bring myself to taunt any of the Blues I know as it just feels arlarse. They’ve got enough on their plate with the Reds being great again and them being in a relegation battle.
That being said, we play them again in a few weeks and I reserve the right to take all of the above back should the need arise. For now though, I’m leaving them be as it wouldn’t be a case of kicking a man when he’s down, it would be more like lifting up the coffin lid and repeatedly punching the corpse in the face.
Star man is Sadio, despite those two second half misses that denied us a scoreline for the ages. He was just unplayable in the first half and if the season ended now he’d be my choice for Player of the Year. He’s fucking relentless and never gets tired. He had two weeks off in the summer but look at him, going out there three times a week and running teams ragged. He’s incredible. If Mané hadn’t been so spectacular then I’d have gone for Origi.
Special mention to Shaq as well though. I think this was his best game for us even though he hadn’t featured in months. He was confident, strong, made good decisions and covered more ground than anyone other than Gini and Milner. Made up to see him back as I love the little guy. Not as much as my Dad does though. When the players were getting ready to restart the game after Shaq’s goal, he turned to me with a big grin and says “made up my little man got a goal”.
We all have our favourites, the underdog who we root for. For my Dad it’s Shaq (and Adrian, who he’d have as first choice if it were up to him. I’m not joking!) and I guess for me it’s probably Lovren. He isn’t my favourite player but I do have a huge soft spot for him as I think he gets a raw deal. He was superb again, even if it understandably won’t really be mentioned because of all the other storylines to come out of the game.
Similarly, I root for Lallana too as I’ve always been a fan of his even before we signed him. I was happy for him to get a run out and one or two careless moments aside he did a good job. The strength of the squad is often called into question and I get that, as the drop off between first choice and back up sometimes looks greater than it probably is.
All things considered though, we’ve got as strong a squad as anyone other than perhaps City, but they have the luxury of breaking every financial rule in the book to pack their bench with £50m signings. It’s always nice when the squad players get a chance to shine and they take it. This is one of the most satisfying results of the season for me, and it’s got nothing to do with WHO we played, it’s entirely about HOW we played.
Well in lads, now let’s go to Bournemouth and pick up another three points.
Team: Adrian; Alexander-Arnold (Gomez), Lovren, Van Dijk, Robertson; Wijnaldum, Milner; Shaqiri, Lallana (Henderson), Mané; Origi (Firmino).
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