Find all the Liverpool vs Everton stats from Opta on this page as Salah scores twice to send the Reds top.
Jürgen Klopp hasn’t hid his disdain for 12.30pm kick-offs. For the second international break in a row, his side were given the early Saturday timeslot and with many senior players travelling the globe on international duty, Liverpool had a tight turnaround for Everton’s visit at Anfield.
Looking at Liverpool’s record in these games, it’s easy to why he’s not a fan. Klopp’s win ratio in those fixtures is just 48.6% (P37 W18 D12 L7) compared to 65% in all other fixture time slots.
For just over 70 minutes today, it looked as if the early kick-off curse was going to bite again, even as Everton had been reduced to 10 men after Ashley Young’s first-half red card for two yellow card fouls on Luis Díaz.
But Mohamed Salah’s 75th-minute penalty, followed by a second deep into added time, proved to be decisive as Liverpool took all three points to move (temporarily at least) to the top of the Premier League table.
The international break hangovers were clear to see, with both sides sloppy in possession throughout the game, notably Liverpool who enjoyed 77.4% of the ball in this contest. Despite monopolising the ball, they often lacked fluidity when trying to progress the ball through the thirds.
That led to a bizarrely transitional game in the opening 20 minutes, which were frantic and frenzied if lacking a little quality. Amadou Onana and Young each made crucial last-ditch interventions to break up several lightning counterattacks by the home side, who looked at their most threatening when breaking from defensive situations.
The game’s first inflexion point came in the 36th minute, when Young was shown a second yellow card for bringing down Díaz. He’d already fouled the Colombian earlier on in the game to earn his first booking, so it was a poor misjudgment to lunge in and make the challenge.
But for all Liverpool’s possession, they really struggled to work the ball into dangerous opportunities, as Everton shrunk deeper, and resorted to shooting from range. The Reds had seven shots from outside the box in the first half – the most shots they’ve taken from outside the box in the first half of a Premier League game for over six years (eight vs. Middlesbrough in May 2017).
As you’d expect, with the one-man advantage Liverpool made all the running in the second half. The Reds had 80% possession and completed 359 passes to Everton’s 46.
For the most part, Everton were able to keep them at arm’s length. James Tarkowski made some crucial blocks to keep the scores level. The Everton captain has made 16 blocks in the league so far, the most of any player, including four in this game – a match-high for him.
The second major moment then came after 75 minutes, when Michael Keane was adjudged to have handled a cross after a VAR check. Despite Jordan Pickford’s data-heavy water bottle, Salah stepped up to blast it past him. Salah’s penalty was the 143rd that Liverpool have scored in the Premier League, which moves them to the outright most in the competition history ahead of Chelsea (142).
As Everton pushed for a late equaliser, Darwin Núñez – fresh off the bench – hurtled clear on the break before teeing up Salah for his second. The second goal, while a mere footnote on this game was a significant milestone for the Egyptian. It was his 105th goal in all competitions at Anfield, a tally that takes him clear off club legends Steven Gerrard and Kenny Daglish (104 each).
The two clearly have a great understanding: Núñez now has eight assists for Liverpool in all competitions. Every single one of them has been for Salah.
Liverpool have now lost just one of their last 26 Premier League meetings with Everton (W12 D13), with that being a 2-0 home defeat in February 2021.
They move – temporarily – to the top of the table. For a side supposedly going through a major squad rebuild, that’s pretty good going.
Our live Opta match centre delivers you all the Liverpool vs Everton stats from this Premier League game at Anfield.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own analysis during and after the game.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official post-match Opta stats on the game as well.
Post-Match Opta Facts for Liverpool vs Everton:
- Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp has now won nine Premier League games against Everton, overtaking Rafa Benítez (8) for the most wins by a manager in Merseyside derbies in the competition.
- Liverpool have kept four consecutive clean sheets against Everton in the Premier League, their longest run without conceding against them in league competition since April 1976 (a run of nine in a row).
- Everton have won just seven points from nine Premier League games this season (W2 D1 L6); their fewest at this stage of a league campaign since 2005-06 (4).
- Mohamed Salah has either scored or assisted in each of his last 13 Premier League appearances for Liverpool at Anfield (14 goals, three assists); only Alan Shearer (runs of 18 and 17) and Thierry Henry (17) have ever done so in more consecutive home appearances in the competition.
- Mohamed Salah has been directly involved in eight goals in 10 Premier League appearances against Everton for Liverpool (seven goals, one assist). Indeed, only Steven Gerrard (9) has scored more goals for the Reds than Salah (7) in this fixture in the competition.
- Everton’s Ashley Young became the first player to be sent off for two yellow cards in a Premier League game against Liverpool since Sadio Mané in October 2015, while playing for Southampton.
- Ashley Young’s dismissal for Everton saw him become the third-oldest player to be sent off in a Premier League game (38y 104d), after Stuart Pearce in 2001 (38y 341d) and Phil Jagielka in 2021 (38y 198d).
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