Liverpool beat Everton 4-1 at Goodison Park on Wednesday afternoon. Here are five things we learned from a fantastic performance.
Liverpool go extra-strong vs Everton
We wrote in the buildup to this one that Jurgen Klopp could put out his strongest XI in a while. He did just that, too, naming his strongest XI for the first time this season.
And it proved to be a wonderfully balanced side- even if Everton did have their moments here. Hopefully, not the last time we this XI.
Out of the traps
Liverpool wasted no time vs Everton here. They had the lead inside 10 minutes and that came after Mohamed Salah had two fantastic chances. By 20 minutes, it was 2-0.
It’s what you expect from Liverpool but in the heat of a derby, this was particularly impressive. In fact, it was so impressive that they killed the crowd, which appeared to hurt their own intensity.
Record breakers
That second goal against Everton meant a new record as Liverpool became the first English side to score at least twice in 17 consecutive games. That’s a truly sensational achievement and really sums up this side right now.
There are goals from everywhere – even before you consider the world’s best goalscorer is there, too. Liverpool can overwhelm teams with every type of goal and we saw that on show today.
Diogo Jota – False 9
Honestly, we haven’t been 100% sold on Diogo Jota as a False 9. He can score goals, yes, but the other stuff? He’s no Roberto Firmino.
Well, park those thoughts. Jota was magnificent here, linking play well, moving the ball into the right areas and being Liverpool’s most important player at times.
His goal was special, of course, but perhaps not the most promising part of his performance. Everton couldn’t handle the Liverpool forward.
We move on
This fixture vs Everton was where things largely fell apart for Liverpool last season. Virgil van Dijk suffered a season-ending injury, Thiago had his two-month setback and the Reds faced late heartbreak.
Even if they didn’t entirely collapse right away, this was the start of their downfall. A 4-1 win here helps erase some of that – it feels as though Liverpool corrected a wrong.
Hopefully, it’s only upwards from here.
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