Everton played Liverpool at Goodison Park in the most anticipated game of the weekend in the Merseyside Derby. The Toffees have started the season strongly and were looking to continue their good form, while Liverpool, after their humiliating defeat to Aston Villa were keen to do some damage. Everton has not won against their derby rivals in almost more than a decade and wanted to change this stat. in the end, the game ended in a 2–2 draw, which can be described as a not so bad result for both sides. But let us now jump in to see the tactical aspects of the game.
In Possession Analysis
Everton in Possession — Everton played in a 4–3–3 shape, and Ancelloti had only one change to his side with Allan coming in for Tom Davies. Whenever Pickford had the ball, Liverpool tried to press from upfront. Therefore, Everton stuck to a no-risk plan, by not trying to pass their way out from the back and Pickford would go long to find his strikers Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin who are generally considered good in the air. However, both these players were often isolated as there was no support for them to capitalize on the second balls. On occasions, they did opt to go forward with their center backs, and as the Reds were holding a high line, they tried to find Calvert-Lewin with over the top through balls. Allan was their main holding pivot player, while Gomes and Doucoure being higher up the pitch. But with Firmino dropping back to stay around Allan, the other midfielders were being constantly pressed making it difficult for them to move the ball centrally.
Everton then later tried to adapt to this pressing by Liverpool, with Gomes dropping back into the second pivot role and Doucoure playing in an advanced position. As Salah and Mane were often coming in to press the center backs, Everton had the option to play using their full-backs. This was more effective on the left as Gomes was able to link up with Digne who was successful at times to release the ball to Richarlison. Elements of this were seen during their second goal as well. On the right-hand side, they had more space for their full-backs, Coleman from the start and Godfrey later, who were good in making the overlaps. This helped James in getting into the half-spaces and showing his creativity.
Liverpool in Possession — Liverpool also played with their common 4–3–3 shape but had multiple changes from their previous game. Thiago got his first start for the club, while Mane was also back as both these players had tested positive for Covid-19 a fortnight ago. As Everton did not look to press that much, it was easy for Liverpool to build from the back. James is not good in the defensive phase, and Ancelloti had left him in a free role alongside DCL while Doucoure was compensating by moving towards the right.
Everton’s 4–4–2 shape in the defensive phase did cause Liverpool some problems and meant Liverpool tried to work their way through the center with Firmino dropping deep to make it a 4 vs 2 in the midfield. With many bodies in the center, Everton’s full-backs were attracted to the center providing space for Liverpool’s full-backs to attack. Robertson was highly involved in the game due to James staying forward but the situation was different on the right as Richarlison was always seen performing his defensive duties. This meant much less space for Trent Alexander-Arnold, but this was countered by Liverpool by using Henderson on the wings as they already had a numerical advantage in the center. This was seen in their second goal as Henderson exploited the space and put in a cross to which Salah finished on the rebound. Later, as Everton looked to move towards the right, space was even more open for Robertson.
Goals
Liverpool took the lead early on in the game, making it 1–0 through Mane just 3 minutes into the game. In this goal, it was seen that with James staying upfront, the home side lacked the numbers at the back. Henderson was the extra man in midfield and dragged Gomes out of position with him. This meant that Allan and Doucoure had to come towards the right leaving a lot of space for Robertson who was found by Salah. He then ran into the box and found Mane who was unmarked and had an easy finish. Everton came back with 20 minutes on the clock through a header from Michael Keane who met the end of a James Rodriguez corner.
After a long battle between the two sides mostly in Everton’s half, Liverpool got their lead back with Salah getting on the score sheet after 70 minutes. Henderson, who was exploiting the space on the right side was left with acres of space and put in a cross. The cross was intercepted but Salah capitalized on the opportunity to make it 2–1. But once again a few minutes later, Everton got back their equalizer through Dominic Calvert-Lewin who headed home from a Lucas Digne cross. After equalizing, Everton looked like they were just trying to park the bus and squeeze out a point from the game. There is another controversy regarding the offside decision by VAR for a late Liverpool winner, but there is no point in discussing that.
Overall, the game was great for Ancelloti to assess what their position is at the moment, and 1 point is not a bad result for both teams. Klopp’s team could not really afford to lose this one and they stepped up to show that their defeat to Villa was just a one-time thing. Although they would be concerned about a long term injury to Van Dijk, and Thiago also reported to be injured after the game, Meanwhile, Richarlison was also sent off during the ending moments of the game for his tackle on Thiago. A lot of controversies were seen regarding Pickford not being shown a red card was his rash tackle on Van Dijk. But in conclusion, the game showed a tactical masterclass fromboth the managers and that Everton can be considered a force to be reckoned with going forward in the season.
About the Author: Namit Sharma is a student of MBA(Sports Management) at Symbiosis School of Sports Sciences, and a football enthusiast obsessed with an in-depth analysis of football. A big supporter of the flexibility of tactics and formations during a football match.
Namit is a creative writer at HeadKick.co
