Mohamed Salah and Cody Gakpo scored on either side of halftime as Liverpool claimed Merseyside derby honors with a 2-0 win over Everton at Anfield on Monday.
Liverpool moves back into ninth place, ahead of Chelsea by a point with 32 points on the season. Everton remains in the bottom three, stuck in 18th place with 18 points. Their next opponent, Leeds, has 19 points.
WATCH LIVERPOOL v EVERTON FULL MATCH REPLAY STREAM - LINK
This was a decisive win for the Reds, although the opening goal came within a half-minute of Everton’s James Tarkowski clattering a header off the far post.
The most interesting part of the second half came when Everton keeper Jordan Pickford and Liverpool back Andy Robertson went toe-to-toe on the touchline, inspiring substitute Virgil van Dijk to shove several Everton players. Toffees midfielder Amadou Onana, already subbed off, also tried to get in the mix. Both Pickford and Robertson were cautioned for their actions.
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Here’s everything you need on Liverpool vs Everton.
Liverpool can exhale after controlling derby display
Liverpool entered Monday’s Merseyside derby with one Premier League goal and a matching point in four 2023 matches, the latest outing a 3-0 loss at Wolves that had people asking Jurgen Klopp questions about his future.
The derby happened to occur after Sean Dyche engineered a huge debut win for the Toffees, topping Arsenal 1-0 at Goodison Park and renewing at least a few good vibes for Everton.
Realistic Everton fans would’ve noted Liverpool’s massively-advanced roster ahead of the game and maybe expected their top hopes as a bunkered-in 0-0 draw or maybe, just maybe, a smash-and-grab 1-0 at Anfield.
It was anything but that despite James Tarkowski nearly making it 1-0 to the visitors exactly 15 seconds before Darwin Nunez led a counter attack that ended with Mohamed Salah knifing a shot past a rudderless Jordan Pickford.
Cody Gakpo had it 2-0 in the 49th minute when Pickford seemed to wave Conor Coady away from dealing with a Trent Alexander-Arnold cross, allowing the low pass to become Gakpo’s first Liverpool goal.
It’s the third-straight Merseyside derby that Liverpool held their rivals without a goal, a scoreless Goodison Park draw sandwiched between a pair of 2-0 matches at Anfield.
Stars of the show
Mohamed Salah
Darwin Nunez
Trent Alexander-Arnold
Alex Iwobi
Cody Gakpo
Jurgen Klopp reaction
“The atmosphere was outstanding,” Klopp said after the game. “I am in love with our crowd and what they did tonight. It was very special to us and was extremely helpful. The boys paid it back. It was a real derby, difficult opponent to play against but we played a game we wanted to play, not a game Everton wanted to play.”
On bringing back his trademark fist-pump celebration with the Kop: “A massive relief. To be honest, you never know when you can do it next. I really think whatever the crowd asked me tonight I would have done apart for getting rid of my clothes. And that should be a thank you to them and not a torture.”
A relieved Jurgen Klopp speaks after a vital win at Anfield.#MyPLMorning | #LFC pic.twitter.com/C5fxDt4zwU
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) February 13, 2023
Sean Dyche reaction
“All games are important but it’s fair to say people were wondering if we would get a point from our first two games,” Dyche said of beating Arsenal and losing the derby. “To get three, I’m not too disappointed with that. I’m a realist and I know how tough the Premier League is. There is more to come from this side. They have taken a lot on in a short space of time. We need to recover quickly and go again.”
What’s next?
Liverpool heads north to meet Newcastle United at 12:30pm ET Saturday, while Everton hosts Leeds in a huge match for the bottom-three fight at 10am ET Saturday.
Mohamed Salah goal video: Egyptian converts Nunez-led counter
Cody Gakpo goal video: Fullbacks drive set-up of second goal
Liverpool and Everton fight video: Van Dijk, Onana join Pickford, Robertson scrap
Everton and Liverpool players exchange some words with each other after Jordan Pickford shoves Andrew Robertson.
— NBC Sports Soccer (@NBCSportsSoccer) February 13, 2023
📺: @USANetwork #MyPLMorning | #LIVEVE pic.twitter.com/12DQzixhKK
How to watch Liverpool vs Everton live, stream link and start time
Kick off: 3pm ET, MondayTV Channel: USA NetworkOnline: Stream via NBCSports.com
Key storylines & in-form players to watch
Liverpool are all over the place and look like missing the Champions League for the first time since Klopp’s first season in charge. Defensively they are fragile and they’ve failed to score in any of their last three games. However, they have only lost once in their last 27 derbies against Everton, so that will give Liverpool hope. Alisson is doing his best to bail Liverpool out but he is facing so many big chances each and every game.
Amadou Onana, Idrissa Gana Gueye and Abdoulaye Doucoure were excellent in midfield for Everton against Arsenal and will be key in this clash. Dyche set Everton up in a 4-5-1 formation and whipped crosses in for Dominic Calvert-Lewin to attack. If the DCL misses this game through injury, that will be a big blow but Everton look generally solid with Coady and Tarkowski anchoring the defense and now look more confident they can hurt opponents on the counter and from set-piece opportunities.
Liverpool team news, injuries, lineup options
OUT: Luis Diaz (knee), Arthur (thigh), Ibrahima Konate (muscle), Thiago (hip)
🔴 #LIVEVE TEAM NEWS 🔵
— Liverpool FC (@LFC) February 13, 2023
Our line-up to face Everton tonight:
Everton team news, injuries, lineup options
OUT: Nathan Patterson (knee), Andros Townsend (knee), James Garner (back), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (hamstring)
TONIGHT'S TOFFEES! 👊🔵
— Everton (@Everton) February 13, 2023
🔃 One change from the Arsenal win, as Simms replaces Calvert-Lewin up top#LIVEVE pic.twitter.com/aLSSARJlFX
