Liverpool draw 1-1 with Everton despite dominating possession: As it happened

Wayne Rooney converted from the spot late in the match. (Source: Reuters)

Anfield hosts Liverpool’s match against cross-town rivals Everton. It is the first Merseyside derby of the season and also the first time since his summer move that Wayne Rooney faces Liverpool in an Everton jersey. Everton’s gloom has been lifted of late and they come into this match on the back of three victories on the bounce in all competitions. Liverpool, on the other hand, have defined the term ‘free-scoring.’ Catch live score and updates of the Premier League match between Liverpool and Everton here.

Liverpool vs Everton, Match highlights: 

FULL TIME: Liverpool 1-1 Everton. Dejan Lovren is having a go at the referee and his team mates are pulling him away. It was a soft penalty but an unneccessary one from Lovren and that cost Liverpool two points. If anyone wants to know the meaning of the term, ‘scoring against the run of play,’ the highlights of this match would help, especially around the time Wayne Rooney scored from the spot. It is his first goal in the Merseyside derby. There are a lot of firsts happening for him of late. Who said he is a spent force?

90 mins: Four minutes of added time almost up, Everton are on the verge of pulling off an unlikely point

85 mins: Liverpool win a free kick in front of Pickford’s goal. Coutinho is the man who takes, it is about 25 yards away and very much in his zone. Two deep breaths and Coutinho unleashes the shot, it swings towards the top corner on Pickford’s right but he is able to pluck it out

82 mins: And Wayne Rooney goes off for Phil Jagielka. Just before these changes, Solanke had sent a ball inside the box but Robertson was unable to get to the end of it. It went out for a goalkick and that was Solanke’s last contribution

79 mins: It has been a completely one-sided match before and even after that goal. It was a soft penalty but Lovren should have known better. It is as close as it gets to daylight robbery on a football pitch. Liverpool make a chance, Solanke foes on for, the first time in 19  months, Danny Ings

77 mins: GOAL! And Wayne Rooney scores from the spot. Everton against the run of play have levelled proceedings. Lovren with the silliest of pushes on Calver-Lewin and Rooney does what he does best. 

71 mins: Everton make a rare foray into the Liverpool part of the field, Sigurddson takes the shot from a fair distance and is deflected outside. Everton actually have a corner, it is taken by Sugurddson but punched away by Mignolet and Liverpool get pack to threatening the Everton goal.

66 mins: Liverpool make a change, Mohamed Salah goes off for Roberto Firmino. Klopp is making surprise after surprise with his team today.

64 mins: Salah sends in a free kick from about 40 yards out, Gomez gets his head to it and the ball scrapes the top of the net. It’s all Liverpool at the moment and it would be pretty surprising if Everton manage to keept the deficit down to one goal.

59 mins: A reminder

(Source: Reuters)

54 mins: A flurry of corners fopr Liverpool, Salah takes the latest one short and plays a one two with Sadio Mane before taking a shot outside the box after running towards the middle. It flies high above the bar

52 mins: Milner sends in a low cross from a corner from the left of Pickford’s goal, Klavan runs towards it but lets it go and it goes towards Lovren who is not able to get at the end of it, it goes off Calvert Lewin and another corner for Liverpool

48 mins: Liverpool had the chance to fo two up. Milner had sent in a cross from the right to the far post, Salah was there but his header sends the ball across the face of goal out of play.

47 mins: Everton bring on Schneiderlin and Lennon coming on, replacing Tom Davies and Oumar Niasse at half time.

A prelude to the Manchester Derby. (Source: Reuters)

HALF TIME: Everton sit deep and tight but Liverpool have a free scoring hyper player called Mohammed Salah in their ranks right now. It is a bit unfair on the Everton players who had been pretty air tight up until then, so much so that Liverpool struggled to get even a shot in. At half time, Liverpool lead 1-0. 

45 mins: And a big chance right after that for Liverpool, Mane breaks down the left, Everton completely caught out bu Mane tries to score on his own. The shot is weak and off target. There was Oxlade-Chamberlain and Salah in the middle completely unmarked, that was a por decision from Mane.

42 min:  GOAL! Mo Salah it is! Salah cuts in from the right, skips past an Everton player and arrows it into the far corner. It took a piece of magic to break down this Everton defence and that is what Salah had up hios sleave. 

38 mins: A brief lull in play. Gylfi Sugurdsson is the first player to be booked this evening for his challenge on Jordan Henderson. The first yellow card had to be for Everton. They have decided to sit tight in their box and the tackles are coming from their end more often

33 mins: Liverpool are raining in the crosses from all angles but Everton are disciplined. Even Wayne Rooney is playing a deep role, he has thus far stopped quite a few situations from being a nuisance for Everton

28 mins: Liverpool earn a free kick a couple of metres outside the box right side of goal. Salah and Oxlade-Chamberlain stand over it, the latter takes it, curls it to the far post but no Liverpool, or Everton, head reaches it. Still no shots on goal from Liverpool despite dominating possession

25 mins: Oxlade Chamberlain pushes Sigurdsson and Everton get a free kick about 25 yards from goal. It comes to nothing but that was at least some respite for the Everton defence which has been under considerable pressure

20 mins: Liverpool are unable to keep it together in the final third. To Everton’s credit, though, they have very rarely let things slip through

13 mins: Everton release the ball deep and Niasse gives chase. Mignolet comes off his line and out of the box and slides in. The tackle is perfect and the ball is out of play

It is frosty at Anfield. (Source: Reuters)

9 mins: Liverpool asserting themselves now. Mo Salah skips down the right flank and sends a cross into the box, Milner tries to get to it but Everton manage to see off the danger as Keane comes in to block. Sadio Mane had a good chance before that but slipped inside the box.

5 mins: Everton get a freekick just inside Liverpool’s half. They launch it into the box towards Calvert-Lewis but there is too much on it and it goes safely out of play for a goalkick. Both sides haven’t really stamped authority in the first five minutes, thankfully.

KICK OFF: Everton kick off the match at Anfield as snow floats down to the pitch. 21 red cards across 14 matches in this match, wonder if we will see any additions over the next 90 something minutes. 

1939 hrs IST: The teams make their way out of the tunnel, Liverpool in their traditional red and Everton in their traditional blue and their arms screaming ‘ANGRY BIRDS’

1935 hrs IST: 

Football sees no race, gender or species. (Source: Reuters)

1928 hrs IST: Everton had played their Europa League game against Apollon Limassol with a second string side and still came back with a 2-0 win. Liverpool are blasting in goals from all sides. Both teams have hit a good patch of form. Meanwhile there have been doubts as to whether this match and the Manchester Derby would happen at all because of snow. Those fears seem to have been allayed.

1915 hrs IST: So this what is at stake: Liverpool have a chance to open four-point gap between them and Tottenham Hotspur at fifth place. Moreover, if they do get into their free-scoring mode, something they have been in for the past two matches, Liverpool can also replace Chelsea at third place on goal difference. If they draw the match they remain third with their  Then they would be three points behind Manchester United but still 11 behind Manchester City until the Manchester giants play that is. If Everton manage a first win in nearly two decades at Anfield today, they will get within one point of Watford at ninth. A loss on the other hand would keep them at tenth with the chasing pack close on their heels.

1901 hrs IST: That Liverpool squad is a peculiar one indeed. Coutinho, Firmino and Emre Can are on the bench alongwith Danny Ings who is in any Liverpool squad for the first time since September. You may be forgiven for forgetting that he was playing for Liverpool. Quite a head scratcher from Jurgen Klopp. Everton just make one change from their last league match, Niasse is in for Aaron Lennon.

1848 hrs IST: Teams

Liverpool: Simon Mignolet, Joe Gomez, Ragnar Klavan, Andrew Robertson, Dejan Lovren, James Milner, Jordan Henderson, Sadio Mane, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Mohammed Salah, Dominic Solanke

Subs: Laurius Karius, Gini Wijnaldum, Roberto Firmino, Coutinho, Emre Can, Danny Ings, Trent Alexander-Arnold

Everton: Jordan Pickford, Jonjoe Kenny, Cuco Martina, Mason Holgate, Ashley Williams, Idrissa Gana Gueye, Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Tom Davies, Wayne Rooney (C), Gylfi Sigurdsson, Oumar Niasse

Subs: Joel Robles, Morgan Schneiderlin,  Michale Keane, Phil Jagielka, Aaron Lennon, Nikola Vasioc, Ademola Lookman

1845 hrs IST: Hello and welcome to our coverage of the not so ‘Friendly’ derby, Liverpool vs Everton. Everton come into this match on the back of three back-to-back wins while Liverpool have scored 12 goals in their last two matches against Brighton and Spartak Moscow. The Toffees’ run started with a win against West Ham United that was inspired by Wayne Rooney’s hat-trick with the third goal being walloped in from his own half. While they have had troubles in all departments this season, Liverpool’s chief source of despair has been a soft backline.

Everton have not won at Anfield since 1999. Add to that the tension between Sam Allardyce and Jurgen Klopp (“He’s a soft German,” said Allardyce after his Crystal Palace side beat Liverpool in 2015, “With Sam, I have a kind of history,” Klopp admits later) and the fact that Everton really don’t have anything to lose in this match while Liverpool have a gap to open over Tottenham and a potential third spot to jump to; ladies and gentlemen, we have a proper match here.