After the Reds reaffirm their grip on the Premier League title, we take a look at some of the winners and losers on the night.
In typical derby day fashion, Liverpool had to overcome not only the violent thugs in blue, but their embarrassingly incompetent enablers as well, and they did, running out 1-0 winners courtesy of a brilliant Diogo Jota run and finish, reclaiming their 12-point lead and 13-goal goal difference superiority over Arsenal.
It wasn’t a classic in any other way than it resembled many, many games just like it, where the Reds run out deserved winners without ever really shining, and the talking points in the aftermath mostly revolving around whether a given player should have been allowed to finish the match or not.
Sure, Everton hit the post on their one big chance, courtesy of a Virgil van Dijk error, but they also took five shots in total, with zero in the final 40 minutes. The contest here was always whether the visitors would hold out, not whether they would pose a threat in any other way than violence.
In the end, though, this was another three points in the effort to continue making the title race a formality, and below, we’ll have a quick discussion about some winners and losers on the night.
Winners
The Slotta: Injuries and a change in role have hampered Diogo Jota this season, with the Portuguese — famous for his decisive contributions in previous years — netting zero goals in his past ten appearances, and scoring only a single match winner thus far this campaign, against Crystal Palace all the way back in October.
None of that matters when it’s derby time, however, and the 28-year old popped up with a lovely bit of skill in the 57th minutes, latching onto a Luis Diaz layoff just outside the box before going on a mazy run past a pair of Everton defenders and composedly tucking the ball into the back of the net past the hapless Jordan Pickford.
If he can stay healthy in the run-in, Jota probably profiles best for Slot’s vision of the striker profile among Liverpool’s current options, and a string of good performances now might have an impact on what the Reds’ summer business plans look like.
Number 20: 12 points up. 24 to play for. Four wins and a draw mathematically does it, but the team chasing the Reds haven’t won ten in a row since the early 2000s and have two from their last five. This will be over before you know it. Start booking those parade tickets if you haven’t already.
Losers
Watching these refs: The grass is greener, they say, and while I definitely missed the football while it was gone, and despite having written about this extensively in the very recent past, I seem to have memory holed just how painfully bad English referees are.
Goodness me, but rarely has the phrase Unprepared for the Moment been more applicable. Samuel Barrott failed to dismiss James Tarkowski for an absolute horror tackle on Alexis Mac Allister in the 11th minute, and when Paul Tierney had the chance to let the referee rewatch his error, he made damn sure not to take it. It was such a malicious leg breaker that even Duncan Ferguson was up in arms over it, and it is nigh impossible to both explain it and ascribe honest intent to the referee at the same time.
Beto should also have been sent off with a second yellow when he kicked what would have been Caoimhin Kelleher’s face had the Irishman not put his hands up to protect himself just before half time, and Jordan Pickford was allowed to hack down Darwin Núñez while coming nowhere near the ball towards the end of the match. The whistle had gone but violent conduct is violent conduct even when the ball is out of play. Darwin was somehow booked.
Well done, boys. Good process.
What Happens Next
The Reds travel to London to take on Fulham on Sunday, before they go into their one match a week home stretch, as they host West Ham the following Sunday.