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As it happened: Everton v Liverpool, Premier League

We were at Goodison Park to see if the Reds could give under-pressure Brendan Rodgers a boost.

Good afternoon everyone and welcome to our coverage of the first Merseyside derby of the season.

Brendan Rodgers has no worries about his job, going by his pre-game press conference but a bad result here and he might change his tune.

Get in touch through email (eoin@the42.ie), Twitter or Facebook and you can leave a comment below too.

So, the big news is that Seamus Coleman still misses out for Everton. He’s not even on the bench because of a hamstring problem, though Martin O’Neill has named him in the Irish squad for the upcoming qualifiers against Germany and Poland.

 

The Toffees are unchanged from the team that came back spectacularly to beat West Brom last weekend and Darron Gibson has once again been named on the bench.

For Liverpool, it’s a similar story. Daniel Sturridge retains his place up front and is partnered by Danny Ings with Philippe Coutinho just behind them.

Rodgers continues with his three-man central defence with Clyne and Moreno at wing-back.

It’s been a very long time since Everton last beat Liverpool at Goodison.

October 2010 was when it happened last. A 2-0 victory that day with Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta on the mark.

The Reds’ team that day?

Some stardust in the form of Torres and Gerrard but there was also Kyrgiakos, Joe Cole, Maxi Rodriguez and Paul Konchesky.

Teams are in the tunnel. Any predictions?

1′ – AND WE’RE OFF!

4′ – PENALTY CLAIM! Well, now. Milner is slipped through in the left channel of the area, tries to touch it past the onrushing Howard and at first glance it looks like the goalkeeper catches Milner as he slides in with a tackle. But on the replay, he gets enough of the ball and there aren’t any claims from Liverpool. Risky!

Good start from Liverpool here. Sturridge has had a shot on goal that he dragged wide and moments later, Jagielka makes a great challenge on the striker as he’s about to tap home following a cross from Skrtel (yes, you read that right).

Half chance from the corner as Skrtel seems a bit put-off by Sturridge’s presence and miscues at the far post. Decent chance, to be honest. Everton slow to find a foot-hold here.

And there’s Jagielka again to the rescue after Skrtel’s flick on gets Ings in on goal. Great foot-in from the centre-back and it ends up taking a nick off Ings on its way so Everton get the goal-kick.

Everton need to find a breath here. They can’t clear their lines, Liverpool press and the ball breaks for Ings who rasps a dipping shot towards goal. Thankfully for Howard, it’s just a smidge too high.

A bit strange from Martin Atkinson. A derby game but whistles for two Everton challenges in quick succession (looked hard but fair) and then doesn’t give Lukaku a free on the edge of the area with Can all over him.

Skrtel is down here and there’s a little bit of concern over him. Not much in the way of a like-for-like replacement on the bench should he need to go off.

He’s fine, it seems. It’s a hand injury but nothing to be majorly concerned about. Free kick to Liverpool here – silly from Browning on Milner.

The set-piece comes to nothing and there’s a bit of a lull here now. Coutinho and Barkley not seen too much of the ball in the opening 25 minutes.

CLOSE! That’s great from Liverpool twice in quick succession. Firstly, Ings finds Clyne with a delicate ball into the channel and the wing-back charges into the area. But Barry makes a brilliant challenge to nick it away. Moments later, Coutinho is involved and clips a superb pass through for Milner who’s denied by Howard at his near post.

CLOSE! Words we don’t hear often – brilliant from Mignolet. Barkley lifts in a free-kick from the right side and Naismith is left all alone to attack it at pace. From close range, his header is powerful but central. Still, the goalkeeper shows a really strong arm and great reflexes to tip it over the bar. What a chance.

CLOSE! And he’s there again, Mignolet! Another superb stop – this one low down to his right after James McCarthy strikes with a really crisp effort that’s heading for the bottom corner. What makes the save even better is that Galloway is completely blocking his view so the keeper sees that very late.

Everton have really upped it in the last few minutes – some neat build-up play, crisp passing and they’ve got their rewards with a couple of great chances.

HANDBAGS! Absolute madness from Atkinson here. Barkley and Can grapple with each other, lots of mouthing off and not much else. The referee books both of them. Good grief.

A half-chance for Ings as he chases a ball that’s just a bit over-hit. Still, he steers a shot towards goal but Howard is right on him and it bounces out for a corner.

OUCH! Can is a little rattled it seems. As he watches a dropping ball in the Everton area, Barry is right behind him – touch tight. Can has a look and then launches himself in the air, attempting an overhead kick. Inevitably, he only succeeds in booting Barry in the face.

GOAL! Ings!

Liverpool have had quite a few set-pieces and haven’t made much from them. This time it’s different. There’s Ings inside the 6-yard area who heads home. On first glance, it looks like Barkley loses the flight of the ball in the air, probably helped by a slight nudge from Ings.

Goal! Lukaku!

Oh, dear. That’s pathetic stuff. Deulofeu sends in a cross that misses Lukaku at the near post and falls to Can. Instinctively, he looks to clear it. But he completely mis-kicks, his clearance hits Skrtel, breaks for Lukaku and he sticks it to the net.  That’s absolutely awful.

AND THAT’S HALF-TIME!

Well, it’s another high-profile error that has cost Liverpool in that half after nicking a goal just before the break.

They have looked good at various intervals but Everton created two good chances and Mignolet made some great saves.

By the way, in the Sky studios at half-time, Jamie Carragher, Thierry Henry and Graeme Souness have all blamed Tim Howard for Danny Ings’ opener.

And Souness has had a right go at Moreno for allowing Deulofeu to whip in the cross for Lukaku’s equaliser saying he ‘neglected his duties’.

AND WE’RE BACK UNDERWAY!

CHANCE! From the dangerous in-swinging corner, Browning’s header at the near post is deflected over the bar. Moments later, Lukaku is in the left channel and squeezes in a shot towards Mignolet’s near post but the keeper gets down and blocks.

Great skill from Naismith and Clyne is bamboozled by it. But no yellow card. By the way, Aaron Lennon is about to come in here for Everton.

SUBSTITUTION! Lennon (on) – Deulofeu (off)

It’s been a quiet enough second period and Lennon could give the Toffees the ability to stretch things just a bit.

And there is Lennon popping up on the right, racing straight at Moreno and whipping in a low cross into the area. Liverpool clear their lines but they’re under pressure here. Moments later, a booming cross is sent into the danger area, Mignolet stays on his line and Skrtel sticks out a leg to clear. The centre-back turns to his goalkeeper and asks why he didn’t come for it.

BOOKING! A yellow card for James McCarthy as he takes down James Milner

CLOSE! Everton transition well and Barkley races forward with support from Lukaku and others. He reaches the edge of the box and tries to use Skrtel as a shield, curling towards the far corner. He doesn’t miss by much.

BOOKING! Lucas gets a yellow after being adjudged to have had a nibble at Barkley as he tried to turn. Everton free-kick.

CLOSE! That’s a great chance for Everton to take the lead. Barkley with a great dummy and the ball runs into the right channel for Lukaku to get onto. But his strike is straight at Mignolet, who beats it away. Angle not the best but you’d have expected him to do better.

PENALTY CLAIM! And there’s Lukaku popping up again in the area, trying to turn Sakho who goes right through him but gets plenty of the ball. The striker goes tumbling but never a penalty and Liverpool get it clear.

CLOSE! And at the other end, there’s Coutinho who jinks past one tackle and fires a curler towards Howard’s goal. It’s not angled towards the corner though – pretty central – and the keeper parries before Everton complete their clearance.

Brendan Rodgers is chatting to Adam Lallana on the Liverpool bench. Expect that change to happen imminently.

SUBSTITUTION! Lallana (on) – Ings (off)

The goalscorer is replaced by the man who scored that pretty neat goal against Sion in Europe midweek.

Moreno whips in a cross from the left but Milner can’t quite get enough on it and it’s well wide.

CONTROVERSY! Well, I haven’t been Atkinson’s biggest fan this afternoon and he’s allowed Lucas stay on the field after a blatant and cynical trip on McCarthy. Not really sure how the referee can choose to ignore that.

SUBSTITUTIONS! Kone (on) – Naismith (off) & Allen (on) – Lucas (off)

After he probably should’ve been sent-off, Lucas is taken off. Meanwhile, Kone is on to add something to Everton’s attack.

Less than ten to go now. Will we see a dramatic, late winner?

Barkley goes down as Lallana gets in to make the challenge. There’s absolutely no contact and Barkley wins a free-kick, despite the blatant dive. Quite rightly, Lallana waves a finger at him as Atkinson is nowhere to be seen!

Huge roar from the Everton faithful as Lennon hints at good things down the right. Liverpool get it clear but the home side are getting a push going.

HANDBAGS! Sakho and Lukaku are face-to-face in the area. Both players are exchanging words and nothing else happens. Both are dragged away by team-mates. Atkinson, with no idea what actually occurred, does his usual and gives both players a yellow. For absolutely nothing.

FULL-TIME! There’s a half-chance for Everton as Lennon jinks inside a challenge, plays in Lukaku but nothing sits up for the striker and Liverpool get it clear. And that’s the last action here.

Liverpool really didn’t want to lose that game and you could tell with about half an hour left that they were content with a 1-1. Compared to the opening period, they didn’t really offer much in attack with Ings and Sturridge passengers for the majority of the half – Ings obviously being replaced by Lallana too.

There was some verve from Everton with Barkley especially pushing to try and unlock the Liverpool defence. Lukaku tested Mignolet twice but there wasn’t a really excellent chance created after the break.

Both sides probably should’ve been down a man. Barkley, already on a yellow, conjured a blatant dive and moments after being booked Lucas cynically took down James McCarthy.

Brendan Rodgers will keep hold of his job for a while longer but this was more of the same from his side.

Thanks for staying with us. Be sure to check in with our live coverage of Arsenal’s clash with Manchester United right here.

Are things about to get a lot worse for Liverpool?

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