By Ellis Lander
Down the years, meetings between Liverpool and Everton have produced late drama, red cards and incredible goals. Despite the clash being dubbed ‘The Friendly Derby’, there is certainly no love lost between the two clubs, with the fight for bragging rights in the city a big factor when the teams meet.
Ahead of Monday night’s 227th Merseyside derby, I wanted to take a look at the top 5 greatest clashes between Merseyside’s two great clubs.
Embed from Getty ImagesLiverpool 4-0 Everton – 28 January 2014
On a chilly night at Anfield, Liverpool ran out 4-0 winners to record their biggest win at home over their great rivals since 1972. It took 21 minutes for the reds to get off the mark as captain Steven Gerrard headed home from a Luis Suarez corner. This was then followed up with two fantastic Daniel Sturridge goals within three minutes of each other just after the half hour mark to send Liverpool into the break with a three goal lead. 5 minutes into the 2nd half, and the home side had a fourth thanks to a wonderful breakaway goal by Luis Suarez.
Embed from Getty ImagesEverton 3-0 Liverpool – 9 September 2006
On a disastrous evening for the reds, Everton recorded their biggest win over their rivals in 42 years. It was a day of defensive struggles for Liverpool as Tim Cahill took advantage of a struggling backline
to finish from close range just 12 minutes before Andy Johnson doubled Everton’s lead after a Jamie Carragher mistake. The away side’s misery was confirmed with just minutes to go as Pepe Reina fumbled a long range Lee Carsley effort to allow Andy Johnson to grab his second of the day.
Embed from Getty ImagesLiverpool 2-1 Everton – 14 April 2012
On a sunny Saturday afternoon at Wembley, it was the Liverpool that emerged victorious as Merseyside’s two great clubs met for the first time since the stadium reopened. It wasn’t always looking that way though, as Everton took an early through Nikica Jelavić who slid a tidy finish past Liverpool third choice keeper Brad Jones. It took Liverpool until the hour to get the equaliser, which came courtesy of Sylvain Distin’s weak backpass that saw Luis Suarez run through on goal and beat Tim Howard. The winner came with three minutes to go as Andy Carroll glanced home Craig Bellamy’s inswinging free-kick to send the red half of the stadium into delirium.
Embed from Getty ImagesEverton 4-4 Liverpool – 20 February 1991
In complete contrast to the 0-0 the two sides endured just 3 days earlier, this FA Cup fifth round replay saw fans enjoy an absolute goal fest. A last minute equaliser from substitute Tony Cottee took the game into extra-time before John Barnes curled in a screamer from 30-yards. With only five minutes remaining in added time, it was Cottee who beat Bruce Grobbelaar for the second time to force another replay and ultimately end Kenny Dalglish’s first reign at Anfield.
Embed from Getty ImagesLiverpool 3-2 Everton – 20 May 1989
It was an emotional time for Merseyside as almost the whole city descended on London just five weeks after the Hillsborough disaster. After much debate about whether the match would even go ahead, it was decided the fixture would enable a unique opportunity for the healing process of the great footballing city. It took just four minutes for Liverpool to take the lead through John Aldridge but it wouldn’t be until stoppage time that Stuart McCall would pop up to send the final into extra time. Ian Rush came off the bench to score two goals either side of a McCall screamer to send the cup to Anfield.
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