Liverpool bounced back to winning form with a hard-fought 2-0 victory over their noisy neighbours, Everton in the 243rd Merseyside derby at Anfield.
Mohamed Salah’s double strike secured all three points for the Reds, who had faced two consecutive winless matches in the Premier League.
Jurgen Klopp’s side now sit in the third position on the league table, trailing leaders Manchester City and second-placed Arsenal by just a single point.
The game stirred controversy over the officiating, with Everton manager Sean Dyche expressing his belief that Ibrahima Konate should have seen a red card for his foul on Beto. Konate had earlier received a yellow card early in the second half for preventing a counter-attack by dragging Amadou Onana to the ground.
In this piece, Neil Andrew (@bleedinglfcred) delves into Liverpool’s performance, the contentious incident involving Konate, and their second clean sheet in the league this season.
Liverpool returned to winning ways against Everton in the 243rd Merseyside derby at Anfield. What’s your general overview of the game?
Neil: It was very much a case of job done. The first game back after the international break is always tough, especially the early kick-off, and for it to be the derby match as well makes it even tougher.
The performance is not one that will live long in the memory but there were a number of positives to take as well as picking up the three points.
This is the second time the Reds have kept a clean sheet in the league this season. A welcome boost for Jurgen Klopp?
Neil: It is a welcome boost as we haven’t always looked a solid unit in defence so far this season.
Other than the Calvert-Lewin chance early on, we managed to limit Everton to very few chances. Whilst the job defensively was made easier after the red card, Virgil van Dijk’s performance was extremely encouraging as he snuffed out any rare moments of hope for the Blues imperiously.
Hopefully, it will be a more resolute Liverpool rearguard going forward building on the confidence of Saturday’s clean sheet.
Should Ibrahima Konate have been sent off after he fouled Beto with the score at 0-0?
Neil: In terms of consistency, then I believe he should have been given his marching orders.
Ashley Young was sent off for two yellow cards and it’s difficult to argue that Konate should not have been as well based on the tone the referee set. That seemed to be backed up by Klopp who substituted Konate almost immediately afterwards.
That being said, the ref made it difficult for himself early on by dishing out the first yellow card to Young. Had he not done that, the threshold would have been higher and there probably would not have been many complaints if both Young and Konate had stayed on.
Kostas Tsimikas replaced the injured Andy Robertson who has been sidelined for several weeks. Is he the right man for the job at left-back?
Neil: Up until this season, most of the fanbase was convinced that Kostas was as good a deputy as you could get for Robbo.
A few indifferent performances, particularly against LASK, now have people questioning that theory.
For me, he deserved the opportunity against Everton to establish himself in that position on a more regular basis.
It wasn’t his best performance and it feels like he will need the backing of his teammates, coaching staff and supporters to see him flourish going forward.
Joe Gomez is likely to be next in line if Kostas does not perform and hopefully, there could be an opportunity for the impressive Luke Chambers in cup competitions.
Liverpool take on Toulouse on match day three of the Europa League on Thursday. Do you reckon Klopp will make changes with the games coming thick and fast?
Neil: Yes, without a doubt, I would expect most of the team to change with the majority of those that started on Saturday given a rest.
Curtis Jones is not suspended for European matches and Cody Gakpo could return from injury to boost the squad further.
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