ANFIELD, LIVERPOOL // Diogo Jota provided the decisive goal for Liverpool as the Reds re-established their 12-point lead at the top of the Premier League table. In this Merseyside derby, there was no late drama.
James Tarkowski somehow escaped a red card for clattering into Alexis Mac Allister early on but Liverpool was largely in control. With only a 1-0 lead, it kept any Everton attacks at bay and closed the result out.
Liverpool now needs a maximum of 13 points to confirm itself as Premier League champion. With eight games left of the campaign, the title is edging closer, making this derby win just that little bit sweeter.
Winners
Mac Allister was a winner for escaping from the game without a broken leg and Jota set Liverpool on the way to another victory in the Premier League. He had been quiet in the first half but then scored the kind of goal he has scored so many times before when he slalomed inside the penalty area and then slotted into the back of the net.
It was Jota's first goal since mid-January and this was quite the game to end his drought. Liverpool boss Arne Slot could quite easily have gone with Luis Diaz in the middle and Cody Gakpo off the left. But Jota is his number one pick, and he justified the call.
Losers
Both Virgil van Dijk and Ibrahima Konate were given the runaround at times by Beto, the Everton striker. The Liverpool defensive pairing came out on top in the end but the margins are tight. Beto was made to look like "prime Didier Drogba", Jamie Carragher said at half-time. He caused many more issues than he should have done.
VAR Paul Tierney should probably be in this category too given his decision not to disagree with the Tarkowski yellow. It should have been a red card, though it didn't matter in the context of the final result.
Player ratings
Caoimhin Kelleher (6). In for the concussed Alisson Becker, the Irishman stepped in relatively last-minute and did well enough. He isn't as commanding as the Brazilian but he didn't do much wrong.
Curtis Jones (7). Starting at right-back, the Reds' number 17, who was sent off in the reverse fixture after the final whistle, did pretty well in an unusual role. In possession, he was more useful than Jarell Quansah would have been at attempting to pen Everton back.
Ibrahima Konate (6). Played some really nice passes out to the left flank but Beto caused him a few issues at times. He was trying to be front-footed and aggressive but was second best in some duels.
Virgil van Dijk (6). He got turned by Beto a couple of times in the first half and could have been punished had the Everton striker either been a millimeter slower making his run or a better finisher.
Andy Robertson (6). Having spoken during the international break about wanting to prove a point and silence the doubters, more will be required to do that. It was a solid showing but nothing spectacular**— the story of his season.
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Ryan Gravenberch (6). Elegant at the base of the midfield but left a few gaps at times that a better team than Everton would have done more with. A couple of dribbles forward with the ball helped to generate chances.
Alexis Mac Allister (7). Did well to help Liverpool progress the ball up the field and delivered a couple of good set-pieces. He isn't the most physical but he doesn't shirk a battle.
Dominik Szoboszlai (6). Quiet in the first half, the Hungarian couldn't really get into the game in an attacking sense. He didn't see much of the ball at all in and around the final third.
Mohamed Salah (7). The PSG and Newcastle games were not his finest moments. Still the runaway contender for Liverpool's Player of the Season award, though, there were positive signs here. Salah looked livelier and this time, when he needed others to step up and score because he couldn't, they did.
Diogo Jota* (7). *The Portugal striker has not been playing well lately so it was a bold call to throw him in ahead of Cody Gakpo (or Federico Chiesa for that matter). One early turn in the first half was his only moment but in the second, he soon opened the scoring with a well-taken goal. Booked for dissent, he was treading a fine line when it came to avoiding another caution.
Luis Diaz (7). Very lively down the left flank against Jake O'Brien, where there was a decent amount of space for him to operate in. The Colombian didn't quite have enough to get past his man and make a telling difference but he was a threat to a point.
Substitutes
Darwin Nunez (6). Replacing Jota before he was sent off, the Uruguayan striker was strangely brought on to calm things down. He definitely did that, by barely touching the ball, but was somehow booked for being fouled by Jordan Pickford. Cody Gakpo also came on but too late to earn a rating.