The final Merseyside derby at Goodison Park got the wonderful ending such a storied rivalry deserved. With a howitzer from James Tarkowski tying the match 2-2 om the dying minutes, the away ends chants of title triumphs across the Stanley Park were silenced. The roar at the final whistle would have you thinking that Everton were winning it instead. You could hardly blame them.
It would have been so utterly cruel if Everton had waved goodbye to Liverpool in this fashion. David Moyes’ men were brilliant. Their aggression and energy spooked the Premier League leaders like no one else has this season. Even Mohamed Salah at his very best could only do so much, his goal and assist not quite enough to silence this grand old ground. An almighty scrap punctuated by red cards at the end belied the friendly derby tag. It won’t be the defining moment of the Goodison Park farewell. Tarkowski’s thundering volley is one for the history books. Bramley Moore will surely never ring like Goodison did tonight, long before that 99th minute equaliser.
Roared on by their boisterous faithful, Everton were so up for it. They flew into every duel, chased every ball, knowing that a tackle, a header, even a crunching duel would see them celebrated to the rafters. No one seemed as up for the occasion as Beto, chasing the ball into the channels, never letting Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk settle.Â
When he needed to show a bit more composure, mind, he duly delivered. Jarrad Branthwaite’s cute free kick from just inside the Everton half pierced the space behind Liverpool’s high line. Beto had judged his run perfectly to sneak behind Van Dijk Rather than striking immediately he let the ball roll across him and closer to Alisson, slotting home with his stronger right foot before the Liverpool goalkeeper could get to him.
Perhaps Everton got carried away. Five minutes after striking their opener came the first passage of sloppy play from the hosts, a cavlacade of errors across the side that began with defenders dropping off Salah on the right flank, giving him space to look up and pick a man for his cross. Beto had not followed Mac Allister’s run. Neither Branthwaite nor James Tarkowski picked up their man, whose flick with the back of his head really should have been caught by Jordan Pickford, who for some reason opted not to stretch his arms out.
Though they had their foothold Liverpool struggled to control a game that was played in the Everton fashion. Lofts into the channel, second balls, full blooded tackles: those were the order of the day. Abdoulaye Doucoure and Beto were menaces, even when Iliman Ndiaye was forced off with what appeared to be a knee injury there was no loss in danger by David Moyes’ side. They kept asking questions of the Liverpool defense, drawing fouls. Conor Bradley, on a yellow card, was lucky that Michael Oliver opted against interfering when he fouled Doucoure.
It was not the only moment fine margins favored Liverpool. Branthwaite thought he’d won it when Everton won two headers off a corner but Jake O’Brien had been offside when he rose above Konate. Jack Harrison scuffed a shot just wide of the far post. When the scrappy second goal did come it was at the other end. Tarkowski didn’t quite clear a cross, but the impressive Branthwaite got in the way of Curtis Jones’ shot on the rebound. Of course he could not control where the deflection might drop, just his luck it was to Salah.
That felt like it would be that. This has been a lopsided rivalry for most of the last 30 years. It felt cruelly appropriate that recent history should be reflected with Liverpool’s 42nd derby win at Goodison Park, taking them one clear of their hosts. But this was not one of those sanitized modern derbies where the red side always seem to find a way. This was altogether more blood and thunder. Everton wouldn’t be quelled. One last cross thrown into the mixer. Konate was convinced he’d been shoved by Beto. He hadn’t and Vitaliy Mykolenko’s cross found Tarkowski at the back post. He could try to replicate that for another 133 years, he’d never hit it as sweetly again.
Liverpool were incandescent. Both Jones and Arne Slot saw red in the aftermath. Heads were gone. Might this, following on from their FA Cup exit at Plymouth’s hands, be the first sign of a wobble from the league leaders? If it is, that might be the only thing that could make this night sweeter for Evertonians. Even if it isn’t, those who were in the Gwladys Street End tonight will never forget how Tarkowski delivered the perfect ending to a derby that will rank up there with any of the 119 others at Goodison.
