23 October 2023 , 04:00
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It was Pep Guardiola who suggested that referees should stop trying to win an Oscar for ‘best acting performance’, and let the players take the limelight, yet both managers here could make the same case.
This was a low-key Merseyside derby, tame - or lame, depending on how you view it - in comparison to the inferno of history in this fixture, and yet the only story in town was about red cards, penalties… and the match officials once more.
Yet behind that, had Everton boss Sean Dyche been allowed afterwards to talk about his team’s performance rather than the referee’s, there was much for him to take positives from, despite the result.
And equally, for Liverpool there is a quiet revolution underway this season that suggests, with their subtle change of tactical emphasis, and a slicker, more imaginative passing game, they can emerge as a force once more.
Make no mistake, it was far from a vintage performance from Jurgen Klopp’s side, but there were moments, real moments, when the interchanges around the penalty area offered a glimpse of something we’ve rarely seen under the German coach before.
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And there was a patience too, a belief in the ability of Mohamed Salah and the rest of a front line with real verve - and in the ability of their new look midfield to find them - which, according to their captain, is the hallmark of all the great teams.
Not that Virgil van Dijk is putting Liverpool in that bracket just yet. But even amid the all-round disappointment of an underwhelming derby (because of referee Craig Pawson, it has to be said), there were encouraging signs for the defender.
“Patience is important, 100 per cent. That is the sign of a great team because we have the players who can make a difference. (Against Everton) we did that very well,” he explained.
Ashley Young was sent off in the Merseyside derby (PETER POWELL/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock)“We shouldn’t panic anyways, we have the quality that whatever happens in the game, 1-0 down or in the last couple of minutes still 0-0, chasing for the winner, we have to be calm.
“We know we were lucky not to concede a second yellow with Ibou (Konate), he knows it, but we remained patient - and we won comfortably, with very positive signs.”
Liverpool had some devastating moments in the first half, the best of which was a dazzling passing symphony that ran the length of the pitch, and was only denied by a brilliant Ashley Young block.
Yet when Young was dismissed they took a different approach, grinding Everton down until Salah could deliver his usual magic, with a confident penalty after Michael Keane’s hand ball, and then a swift, decisive counter attack.
And van Dijk, warming to the theme, couldn’t help touching on that elusive quality of greatness once more - vital quality to any side with genuine title ambitions - because Salah clearly possesses it, despite not even operating at his usual level.
“I don’t think it’s just Salah not at his best, I think he played against a player who did very well,” the skipper explained. “But the other side, he still scored two goals and that’s what we need and that’s the greatness we need. I think he’s very much a great.”