Mohamed ‘Pharaoh’ Salah, 31, scored his 200th league goal to lift Liverpool to the top of the table.
Liverpool won the Merseyside derby against Everton 2-0 in the ninth round of the 2023-2024 Premier League season at Anfield in Liverpool, England, on Nov. 21.
With their third win in three games, the Reds leapfrogged Tottenham Hotspur, who have played one game less, into first place on goal difference with 20 points (six wins, two draws, and one loss). Meanwhile, Everton, who lost yet another rivalry game, remains in 16th place with seven points (two wins, one draw, and six losses).
Liverpool started with a 4-3-3 formation. Luis Dias-Dogu Jota-Mohamed Salah, Ryan Hrabenberger-Alexis McAllister-Dominik Sobosler, Constantinos Chimikas-Virgin van Dijk-Ibrahima Konate-Trent Alexander-Arnold, and Alisson Becker started.
Everton pulled out a 4-4-1-1 formation. Dominic Calvert-Wynne, Abdoulaye Doucoure, Dwight McNeill-Amadu Onana-James Garner-Jack Harrison, Vitali Mikolenko-Jared Branson-James Tarkowski-Ashley Young, and Jordan Pickford took the field first.
The duo of Dias and Salah were on fire. First, Dias drew Young off in the 37th minute with a brilliant individual dribble, and then in the 27th minute, he drew a handball foul on Michael Keane to earn a penalty kick.
Salah stepped up to take the spot-kick and steered a powerful shot into the corner of the net to give the hosts a valuable lead. With this goal, he reached 200 league goals in his career.
Salah didn’t stop there, completing his multi-goal haul in second-half stoppage time off a perfect pass from Darwin Núñez. His seventh league goal took him to 105 goals at Anfield, surpassing the likes of Kenny Dalglish and Steven Gerrard (104).
It wasn’t an easy game. Liverpool threatened on the counter-attack early in the game, but were repeatedly thwarted by the Everton defense. In the 12th minute, Dias’ shot was blocked by Young, and in the 17th minute, Dias’ pass failed to escape the tackle of Onana.
The tense contest swung in Liverpool’s favor in the 37th minute. Young was shown a yellow card for a rough tackle as he tried to stop Dias from dribbling down the right flank. He was sent off for accumulating cautions, and Everton were forced to play the remainder of the game with 10 men.
The Everton defense was not easily penetrated. Everton’s dedicated, physical defense kept Liverpool’s shots at bay and kept the gap tight, giving them little space.
In the end, though, it was the Reds who came out on top. The Reds took the lead in the 30th minute with Salah’s penalty kick, and then drove the wedge home with a precise multi-goal effort from Salah on the counter-attack seven minutes into stoppage time. The goal came after Núñez gave way to Salah in a golden counter-attack opportunity.
With the win, Jürgen Klopp became the manager with the most wins in the Merseyside derby. He has now beaten Everton eight times, surpassing Rafa Benitez as the most successful manager in the Merseyside derby.
The multi-goaler also moved into second place on the all-time Merseyside derby goalscorers list. Only one player has now scored more Premier League Merseyside Derby goals than his seven against Everton – Liverpool’s eternal captain Steven Gerrard (nine).
Meanwhile, Liverpool’s victory left a sour aftertaste as they were mired in refereeing controversy. In the 19th minute of the second half, Konate 토토사이트 committed a foul to break up a counter-attack, but was not shown a yellow card and avoided being sent off for accumulating cautions. Everton protested vigorously, but to no avail.
The BBC called it a “controversial decision,” while Liverpool’s Steven Warnock said, “Liverpool should have been playing with 10 men. It was a terrible decision by the referee.”