The Reds dismiss 10-man Everton
Jurgen Klopp finally seems to have instilled his high-pressing philosophy on his Liverpool players, as the Reds outshone Roberto Martinez’s Everton at Anfield on Wednesday night.
Two late first-half goals from Divock Origi and Mamadou Sakho gave the Reds the lead, before Daniel Sturridge and Philippe Coutinho netted in the second half.
Here are five things we learned in the Merseyside derby:
Liverpool too dominant for Everton
For the first 10 minutes, Everton fans would have come across Stanley Park believing they had a chance of taking something from the game. But that is all it was – 10 minutes. And even during that time Everton did little to unsettle home fans.
Klopp’s high-pressing football was too much for the visitors, as they sat back in the second half in hope of limiting the damage. But it didn’t stop Sturridge and Coutinho getting on the score sheet.
The Klopp effect
When Klopp first arrived at Anfield, Liverpool took a while to get used to the former Borussia Dortmund boss’ demands of high-pressing, high-intensity football. But they showcased it better than, arguably, they have all season.
Everton were outclassed pretty much from the first minute – aside from one or two good counter attacks from the visitors – and two late goals in the first half forced Martinez’s side deeper and deeper as the game wore on.
Roberto Firmino was impressive in the derby, while Sturridge came on to show promising signs for England boss Roy Hodgson, after the striker’s fitness issues earlier in the season had put his European Championship chances in doubt.
Now Klopp has managed to settle his players in to his style of play, he will be keen to experiment with the team at his disposal for the remainder of the season, to decide who will feature against Villarreal in the Europa League. And what areas he will prioritise to strengthen this summer.
Europe win boosts confidence
Liverpool have maintained their unbeaten run in April with this victory – with their last defeat coming away to Southampton in March – and progressing to the semi-finals of the Europa League has, no doubt, boosted their confidence.
The Reds went all-out attack against Everton on Wednesday night, while their defence was never given a real chance to be tested – although Everton’s top scorer Romelu Lukaku had a tame appeal for a penalty ignored in the first half.
Origi found the net, once again, before being substituted with an injury after a clumsy tackle from Everton’s Ramiro Funes Mori – who was subsequently sent off.
Lukaku proves useless
For a man with 25 goals this campaign, it was a surprise not to see more of the Belgian in such a big fixture, between two local rivals. But aside from the opening 10-15 minutes, the 22-year-old may have well stayed at home.
But it was through no fault of his own, as the Toffees couldn’t supply him with the service he required, as Everton were penned back, deep in their own half.
Certainly Joel Robles was seeing more action in the Blues goal than Lukaku was up front.
Origi coming to fruition under Klopp
The German boss was left shaking his head on the touchline, after Origi went down under the challenge of Funes Mori, knowing that he could be without his in-form striker for some time.
However, it seems the Belgian had suffered a badly sprained ankle, rather the initial fear of a leg break. But Klopp will be bitterly disappointed, with big European games coming up.
Origi looked like another flop purchase for the Reds at first, as he didn’t show the signs of the star Liverpool had thought they had bought under previous manager Brendan Rodgers.
But in the past month or so, the striker has shown signs of exactly why the club bought him, and Klopp is, again, showing that he can help develop young players – as he did with Mario Gotze and Robert Lewandowski at Dortmund.
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