Mohamed Salah's brace helped Liverpool claim Merseyside bragging rights as they beat 10-man Everton 2-0 at Anfield.
Salah smashed a penalty past Jordan Pickford deep into the second half before completing a brace on the counter-attack in stoppage time to continue Liverpool's dominance over their local rivals, who had Ashley Young sent off for two yellow cards in the first half.
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How it unfolded
Liverpool made four changes to their starting XI. Kostas Tsimikas replaced the injured Andrew Robertson, while Jurgen Klopp deployed a midfield three of Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai for the first time.
The Reds dominated possession against an unchanged Everton but struggled to create clear-cut opportunities, with Salah's curled shot over the crossbar the closest they came to scoring in the opening half an hour.
Liverpool have received more red cards than any other team this season, with four, but it was their opponents who were reduced to 10 men after 37 minutes. Young fouled Luis Diaz with a slide tackle and was shown a second yellow card, 19 minutes after his first for a challenge on the same player.
It was the 23rd red card in a Merseyside derby, making it the fixture with the most in Premier League history.
Sean Dyche reacted at half-time with two defensive changes, bringing on Michael Keane and Nathan Patterson for Jack Harrison and Dwight McNeil, but it was one of those substitutes who inadvertently cost Everton.
After keeping Liverpool out until 74 minutes, Keane gave away a penalty for a handball from Diaz's cross. Salah smashed past Pickford, whose water bottle next to his goal with a picture of Liverpool's past penalties was of no help.
Everton tried to reply, bringing Arnaut Danjuma off the bench, but could not gain a foothold with 10 men. Indeed, after Dominic Calvert-Lewin's header inside the opening 30 seconds, they failed to have another shot on target, as Liverpool kept a 27th Premier League clean sheet against Everton, their most against an opponent.
The star of the show was Salah, who made sure of the win in the seventh minute of added time, sweeping in at the near post after being set up by Darwin Nunez on the counter-attack.
Salah has now been directly involved in 28 goals in his last 23 Premier League appearances for Liverpool, and has either scored or assisted in his last 13 appearances at Anfield. Only Alan Shearer, with runs of 18 and 17, and Thierry Henry, a run of 17, have ever done so in more consecutive home matches in the competition.
| Position Pos | Club | Played Pl | GD | Points Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |
Arsenal
ARS
|
36 | +60 | 83 |
| 2 |
Man City
MCI
|
35 | +54 | 82 |
| 3 |
Liverpool
LIV
|
36 | +43 | 78 |
| 4 |
Aston Villa
AVL
|
36 | +20 | 67 |
Liverpool, who have now lost only one of their last 26 Premier League meetings with Everton, move above Tottenham Hotspur on goals scored, with 20 points from their nine matches this season.
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