Jared Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin scored two goals that led Everton to a 2-0 victory over Liverpool in the Merseyside derby match yesterday evening, Wednesday, a defeat that may cause Liverpool to lose their hope of competing for the English Premier League title this season.
Everton achieved its first victory in the Merseyside summit at Goodison Park in more than 13 years, depriving Liverpool of equaling Arsenal in the number of points at the top of the table.
Liverpool is in second place, 3 points behind Arsenal, which is in the lead with 77 points, with 4 rounds to go, while defending champion Manchester City is still in third place with 73 points, but has played two fewer matches than the duo, Arsenal and Liverpool.
Everton deals a painful blow to Liverpool
Everton has strengthened its chances of remaining in the Premier League, as it is now in 16th place, 8 points ahead of the closest relegation positions.
Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool captain, said: “I am very disappointed in many aspects, and I think that everyone should look in the mirror and see his level, and did he give everything and do what is necessary to win the league?”
He added: “Of course, we still have other matches after tonight, but if we play like we played tonight, we will have no chance of winning the title.”
He continued: “It is a difficult match, and of course we had to do much better against a team playing to avoid relegation.”
Everton was more aggressive from the beginning and won a penalty kick, when Calvert-Lewin was obstructed by Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson, but the video assistant referee canceled the decision due to offside.
Branthwaite ignited the atmosphere in the stadium in the 27th minute, when he took advantage of a defensive lapse by Liverpool, and put the ball into the net from close range after Liverpool players failed to clear the ball more than once.
Branthwaite became the first Everton player to score against Liverpool since Demarai Gray, who scored during the two teams’ match in late 2021, which ended with Everton losing 4-1.
Everton coach Sean Dyche said: “We talked about the determination, the energy of the team and the physical aspect of the match.”
He added: “The squad did it on Sunday (in the 2-0 win over Nottingham Forest) and they had to do it again. This is the challenge. He continued: “Sunday’s match was wonderful, and now we have played a very important match at the top.”
In the course of the match, Calvert-Lewin took advantage of a ball from a corner kick and headed it into the net in the 58th minute.
Calvert-Lewin commented in an interview with Sky Sports, saying: “It is very special, isn’t it?” He added: “A local summit. I have been here long enough to know what this means to the fans and what this means to me.”
He continued: “We are in the league. We needed three very important points, and we succeeded in that tonight.”
Liverpool put constant pressure on Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford in the final minutes, but the latter blocked Harvey Elliott’s shot and the ball went over the crossbar. He then narrowly blocked a shot from Mohamed Salah, while Everton coach Sean Dyche looked at his watch, waiting for the final whistle.
Pickford said in statements to Sky: “A tremendous atmosphere, and our team deserved this, and we achieved a great win. The hard work paid off.”
Liverpool had 77% of the ball, and its players fired seven shots on goal, while Everton fired only 6 shots.
Liverpool won the League Cup earlier in the season, and the English Premier League became the last competition for the team to compete for the title this season, after it bid farewell to the FA Cup and the European League.
Although Liverpool demonstrated good capabilities in achieving comebacks several times this season, Everton maintained its lead in the match until the end, with Liverpool coach Jurgen Klopp suffering his first defeat at Goodison Park, in his last season with Liverpool.
In the same round, Bournemouth defeated its host Wolverhampton with a clean goal, Crystal Palace defeated its guest Newcastle United with two unanswered goals, and Manchester United defeated Sheffield United by four goals to two.
