A Fernando Torres brace in the space of four seond half minutes was enough to secure Liverpool a thoroughly deserved three points against Everton in the 208th Merseyside derby yesterday lunchtime.
A win for the Reds would have meant that they would rise to the top of the league, albeit for a few hours as Chelsea and Arsenal were both playing later on. However it was the Toffees who had the first decent chance of the game, with Aussie Tim Cahill spurning a great opportunity to give Everton the lead after 15 minutes, after miskicking in the penalty box from a corner.
Club-record signing Marouane Fellani then saw his shot blocked off the line by Jamie Carragher in the 27th minute, however the whistle had already gone, so the goal would not have counted.
That was the pick of the bunch in a fairly uneventful first half, and as the whistle signalling the end of the first half blew, many felt that this would become one of the most tedious derbies in recent times. Torres, thankfully, ensured that this was not the case.
A superb cross by Keane on the hour mark from the left byline left an unmarked Torres to fire home his first in front of a shocked Gwladys Road crowd, and then just four minutes later ”EL Nino” made it three Premier League goals thus far, burying the ball in the top of the net after Phil Jagielka’s brilliant tackle on Dirk Kuyt fell kinfly to his feet.
The day went from bad to worse for David Moyes’ side with ten minutes to go, after Tim Cahill saw red for a two-footed lunge on Xabi Aloso, which many believed merited only a yellow.
And so the final whistle blew, leaving both managers with vastly contrasting emotions; delight and joy for Liverpool’s Rafael Benitez, the win ensuring his best start to a league campaign since he took over in 2004, and his side sitting pretty on the top of the table with Big Phil’s Chelsea side. David Moyes, on the other hand, will be feeling depressed and worried; his side have failed to gain any points at home this season, and have not managed to keep a clean sheet at all. Will we see Moyes at the helm at Goodison Park this time next year? I doubt it…
Gruffudd Owen
A beautifully written article