Everton fights to stay relegated, Liverpool races to win the Premier League title. Those are two goals to add spice to the Merseyside derby taking place at dawn on April 25.

Between the context and objective conditions, for host Everton, 1 point is probably more than enough to be satisfied, while 3 points is a mandatory condition that Liverpool must achieve. It is completely understandable that coach Sean Dyche fielded a squad with a 4-4-1-1 formation, while Jurgen Klopp used the best possible elements in the familiar 4-3-3 formation.

Statistics from the past show Liverpool’s superiority, when they only let Everton win 1 of the last 26 derbies. Even in the last 12 matches at Goodison Park, they did not let their opponents win once.

Current statistics also show that superiority, when Mohamed Salah and his teammates controlled the ball 77% and launched 23 shots. Once again, people can see the “virtual reality” element of The Kop because of its low effectiveness in the 2023-2024 season.

In this match, the efficiency was zero, even though in the starting lineup, except for goalkeeper Alisson Becker, Ibrahima Konate was the only player without a shot. Meanwhile, Salah finished 7 times, or Alexis Mac Allister 4 times, Luis Diaz 3 times.

Goalkeeper Jordan Pickford had 7 saves for the home team. Photo: Everton FC

It all just laid the foundation for an excellent match by Jordan Pickford, when the Everton goalkeeper had 7 saves.

“Blood and thunder” is often the main theme of Merseyside derbies and this 244th clash is no exception. Everton accepted being outclassed to counter-attack, but they had a clear chance.

The home team thought the goal would come early within the first 10 minutes of the match when Allison brought down Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the penalty area. However, VAR pointed out that the English striker was offside when receiving Jack Harrison’s pass.

Liverpool had a chance when Salah put the ball in for his teammates after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s free kick, but Ben Godfrey cleared it near the goal line.

On the other end of the field, Konate did not finish once but made a mistake to give Jarrad Branthwaite the gift of opening the score in the 27th minute.

The Kop rose stronger in the rest of the first half, but that was the period when Pickford became Everton’s hero.

Jarrad Branthwaite scored the opening goal in the 244th Merseyside derby in history. Photo: Everton FC

What Klopp said during the break gave his players added motivation to start the second half the same way they ended the first half, with the game flourishing.

However, their momentum was quickly hindered and they suffered a powerful punch. It was no surprise that from a corner, Everton scored after Calvert-Lewin’s header in the 58th minute.

At this point, people look back and see that, despite being unbeaten in the last 12 matches at Goodison Park, in fact Liverpool only won 3 matches. That means with 9 draws, Everton is absolutely not easily defeated, under any circumstances.

Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool almost surrendered in the Premier League championship race this season. Photo: Evening Standard

Liverpool cannot equal the record of 21 consecutive away goals scored since 1956 and Klopp cannot become the first coach of The Kop to have 10 wins against their neighbors in the port city.

But the bigger blow for Liverpool is that Everton seems to have once again deprived them of the chance to win the Premier League…