Liverpool dominated from start to finish but failed to make their superiority count and were undone late on by a contentious penalty decision. The performance was good but the result was massively disappointing.   

Positives

It's not easy to see too many positives when the sense of frustration is still so fresh. Mohamed Salah continued his fantastic goalscoring run with another wonderful strike while Joe Gomez produced another strong performance at right-back. 

Negatives

Sadio Mane's wastefulness just before half-time left a sour taste in the mouth. He had three unmarked teammates waiting in the centre for a tap in but chose to go for goal himself and dragged his shot horribly wide. That was a pivotal moment in the game because if Liverpool had gotten to 2-0 there's every chance they would have added more after the break. Instead they let Everton hang around and paid the price. 

Manager rating out of 10

5 -- Leaving out Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino was a big call and the disappointing result would suggest Jurgen Klopp got that wrong. Yet even without one half of their "Fab Four", Liverpool dominated the game and created plenty of chances. Had they taken just one more of them then no one would be complaining about Klopp's rotation policy, but they didn't and therefore the finger will be pointed at the manager.  

Player ratings (1-10; 10 = best. Players introduced after 70 minutes get no rating)

GK Simon Mignolet, 6 -- Aside from a routine stop from a speculative Gylfi Sigurdsson effort, Mignolet had virtually nothing to do until suddenly he was asked to try and keep out Wayne Rooney's penalty kick. The Belgian has made a habit of saving spot kicks but this time he was beaten and Everton escaped with a point they didn't deserve.

DF Joe Gomez, 8 -- Mightily impressive in everything he did once again. Strong, composed and quick, he's a terrific prospect who is getting better game by game.

DF Dejan Lovren, 6 -- Somewhat unlucky to concede the penalty as Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin initiated contact and then tumbled to the ground. There was very little the much-maligned Croatian could have done to avoid it but given his track record of costly errors few will be prepared to give him the benefit of the doubt.

DF Ragnar Klavan, 7 -- Not really tested due to the lack of quality and ambition from Everton, but the composure he had shown for most of the game seemed to disappear once the Reds were pegged back and he looked a little rattled on a couple of occasions late on. Overall pretty good though.

DF Andrew Robertson, 6 -- Started brightly and saw a lot of the ball in the first half. Some nice interplay with Mane and James Milner but his crossing was erratic, particularly after the break when he wasted some good situations with a disappointing ball in.

MF Jordan Henderson, 6 -- Lots of industry and determination from the captain who saw a lot of the ball and used it efficiently. He really needs to work on his shooting, though, as the effort deep into stoppage time was pitiful.

MF James Milner, 6 -- Much like Henderson, played his part in ensuring the Reds dominated the game but didn't really offer much creativity and never provided any goal threat. He may prefer playing in midfield but he's more effective at full-back.

MF Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, 8 -- Given a rare opportunity to play centrally and made the most of it with a strong performance. His passing was sharp and incisive, his running intelligent and he was easily the pick of the Liverpool midfield. Drifted wide more after the break and delivered some dangerous crosses before he was replaced by Coutinho late on.

FW Sadio Mane, 6 -- Caused Everton plenty of problems but his decision to go alone just before half-time instead of squaring to an unmarked teammate was one of the key moments of the game. Went close to a spectacular overhead kick goal after the break but this was not one of his better days.

FW Dominic Solanke, 6 -- A difficult game for the youngster to be thrown into against a packed defence in a local derby, but overall, he acquitted himself well and produced some nice touches and layoffs, not least the one that set Mane clean through.

FW Mohamed Salah, 8 -- Always looked the most likely to make the breakthrough and it was therefore no surprise when he stepped inside two defenders and curled the ball beautifully into the top corner. Almost added a second just after the break when he headed inches wide, but eventually ran out of steam and was replaced by Firmino.

Substitutes

FW Roberto Firmino, 6 -- Brought on in place of the tiring Salah but made little headway against Everton's packed defence.

MF Philippe Coutinho, NR -- A late cameo after replacing Oxlade-Chamberlain. Went close with a good free kick and looked lively but ultimately didn't have enough time to do anything decisive.

FW Danny Ings, NR -- No real time to make an impact but good to see him back in the first team picture after his two-year injury nightmare.

Source:
courtesy of ESPNFC

by DAVE USHER

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