- Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw by Everton in today’s Merseyside Derby
- Mohamed Salah struck a superb first-half winner, his 19th goal of the season
- Wayne Rooney then struck an equaliser from the penalty spot after Dejan Lovren’s error
- WATCH: Liverpool fans have brilliant Mohamed Salah chant for fan-favourite
Liverpool were held to a 1-1 draw by Everton in a 1-1 draw in today’s Merseyside Derby at Anfield, with Wayne Rooney cancelling out Mohamed Salah’s opener.
The Reds made some surprise selection choices, leaving Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino out of the starting line up, while Salah was taken off in the 67th minute with the score still at 1-0.
Plenty for Jurgen Klopp to mull over after another frustrating result…
Man of the match
Despite surprisingly going off early, Salah was the clear stand-out performer once again with a moment of true magic giving Liverpool a 1-0 lead in the first half.
Up against a solid Everton side, the Egyptian somehow found space to wriggle past two Toffees defenders in the box and curl home in sublime style.
Salah provided the spark Liverpool needed and it’s no surprise things fell apart for them somewhat once he was subbed off in an unwise move by manager Jurgen Klopp.
Flop of the match
Oh dear, it is of course Dejan Lovren once again as his poor play lead to Everton’s equaliser from the penalty spot.
The Croatian had been doing alright until that point, but always seems to have a costly error in him that makes him a huge liability to this Reds side.
While some would argue the decision was soft, Lovren gave the referee something to think about with a totally needless push when under no pressure at all.
Stat of the match
It seems like it’s about this man every week, but in fairness, how can you ignore his ridiculous numbers?
Salah’s goal today puts him on 19 for the season already, matching his total tally for Roma last season – and Eden Hazard’s best-ever tally in a Chelsea shirt.
19 – Mohamed Salah has scored 19 goals in 24 apps for Liverpool this season (all comps), as many as he netted for Roma last term in 41 games. Force. pic.twitter.com/JdZA6G7aTy
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) December 10, 2017
Player ratings
Liverpool: Mignolet 6, Lovren 5, Klavan 6, Gomez 7, Robertson 7, Henderson 6, Milner 6, Oxlade-Chamberlain 6, Mane 7, Salah 9, Solanke 6/ Subs: Firmino 6, Coutinho 6, Ings 6
Everton: Pickford 6, Williams 7, Holgate 6, Kenny 7, Martina 6, Davies 6, Gueye 7, Niasse 5, Sigurdsson 6, Rooney 7, Calvert-Lewin 6/ Subs: Lennon 6, Schneiderlin 6, Jagielka 6
Reaction
It’s just a lot of anger and frustration from Liverpool fans, who have accused Klopp of disrespecting his opposition with his initial team selection and for taking Salah off when it was still just 1-0, while others made Lovren the target of their post-match ranting…
taking off Salah with 20 minutes left is such an unreal flex from Klopp. gotta respect it.
— Muhammad Butt (@muhammadbutt) December 10, 2017
This is on Klopp today I dont care what anyone says – that team selection was a joke and he has shown a lack of respect for this fixture. Lovren should have left the club after Spurs game end of. Furious fan.
— Adrian Hendrick (@adrianhendrick) December 10, 2017
Klopp subbing Salah has to be up there with the most bizarre thing he’s ever done! It’s backfired!
— Liam (@Lcol88) December 10, 2017
Dejan Lovren, please go away & never play for my football club again. Has the brain capacity of a dung beetle!! #LFC
— Shermo (@BiggKat02) December 10, 2017
A chance to go 3rd. Lovren fucked it up
— Snowman (@P_Dot_88) December 10, 2017
The rotation isn’t the problem. Two stupid decisions, from Mané and Lovren, cost Liverpool all three points.
— John O’Sullivan (@NotoriousJOS) December 10, 2017