LIVERPOOL KEPT THE pressure on Manchester City at the top of the Premier League table and pushed local rivals Everton towards relegation with a 2-0 win in the Merseyside derby on Sunday.
The Toffees’ day got off a terrible start even before a ball was kicked at Anfield as Burnley’s 1-0 win over Wolves dumped Everton into the relegation zone.
Second-half goals from Andy Robertson and Divock Origi ensured they remained there despite a spirited display in a feisty encounter.
A 12th consecutive home league win for Liverpool cuts City’s lead at the top of the table back to one point with five games remaining.
Everton have still not won away from home in the league since August, but they dispelled criticism of being a soft touch away from Goodison Park by showing the fight they will need in the remaining six games to maintain their 68-year stay in the top-flight.
In stark contrast to Manchester United’s capitulation in losing 4-0 at Anfield in midweek, Frank Lampard’s men at least managed to make the Reds earn the three points.
A Sadio Mane dipping effort from the edge of the box was the sum total of the threat to the Everton goal in a scrappy first 45 minutes littered with stoppages in play.
Mane was lucky just to see yellow from one melee involving almost all 22 players after Liverpool refused to put the ball out of play with Richarlison down injured.
Everton’s 32 completed fewest passes in the first half was the fewest of any team in a Premier League game since 2006.
However, they posed the greater threat early in the second half and were made to rue Anthony Gordon’s chance to open the scoring when he dragged his shot across goal with just Alisson Becker to beat.
Gordon also had claims for a penalty appeal waved away to Lampard’s dismay for a push by Joel Matip.
With the scores still level on the hour mark, Klopp was forced to turn to his bench with Luis Diaz and Origi, a perennial scourge of Everton in derbies past, thrown on.
The all-important goal, though, came from an unlikely source as Robertson headed in just his second goal of the season from Mohamed Salah’s dinked cross to the back post.
Salah sliced another good chance over as Everton wobbled after going behind.
But the visitors found their feet again to ensure a nervy finale for the vast majority of the crowd inside Anfield.
Demarai Gray fired a powerful shot inches wide before Robertson was also a hero at the other end as he cleared Dele Alli’s dangerous cross to prevent Alex Iwobi applying a finishing touch.
Origi looks set to depart Liverpool at the end of the season after falling further down the pecking order since the January arrival of Diaz.
But the Belgian signed off with his sixth goal in 12 Merseyside derbies when he headed in at the far post five minutes from time.
I got clubs most improved player at under 12s surely I must be expectating a 6 figure salary in china
€14000 Euro is about 101k Chinese Yuan so you could probably earn that teaching English over there if you accepted an offer as a teacher. Can you afford to turn down a six figure sum like that?
if that lad is worth 20m a year, i am surely worth the avg industrial wage am i ?
I had trials with Monaghan Utd, EMFA, Home Farm Everton and Newcastle West AFC once upon a time like…….
@Liam Dunne: ah he is ☺ juventus will be delighted to hear about him cheering them on.
What a waste of talent, this is going to be. This kid can and should be playing for one of the great european sides. Instead he has gone to chase cash in the Chinese Football pub league
If someone came along and offered you insane money to go to china to to your everyday job,you wouldn’t be interested?
The only reason those European teams are great is because they have the financial clout to go out and buy the best players available to them. What’s happening now is a long overdue case of what goes around comes around.
He went to Zenit for a big wage also, this lad has always put money first!
He’ll be able to look after his family for generations. In 60 years time that will be more important than whether he played a game for an Italian or a Chinese team.
The epitome of the modern day footballer, this youngster. Here’s a player regularly in the first XI of a nation that spent about a year in the top 2 of the FIFA rankings, who has only ever played in the Belgian, Portuguese and Russian leagues. And now he’s off to China.
His ambition is questionable at best, and his love of vast wealth not under any doubt. He went to Zenit for 40 million, so his family can’t be short a few bob.
How long before Continho goes ….
Old news this
Really? He signed 2 hours ago.
Fair play to him. A couple of years in China on mega money and return back to Europe.