Ryan Gravenberch celebrating his goal for Liverpool. (Image: Getty.)
Liverpool just about continued their perfect Premier League record by beating Everton 2-1 in the first Merseyside derby of the season. Arne Slot sprung a surprise by leaving £241m summer signings Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz on the bench, but any pre-match chatter was soon put to one side when Ryan Gravenberch opened the scoring inside 10 minutes with a clever half-volley from Mohamed Salah’s lob into the box.
Gravenberch then turned provider when a smart combination between the midfield three ended with the Dutchman spotting Hugo Ekitike making a darting run, he found the summer signing who made no mistake in firing past Jordan Pickford. However, as they did against Atletico Madrid in midweek, a 2-0 lead saw complacency creep in and Idrissa Gueye halved Everton’s deficit with a first-time strike following Ilman Ndiaye’s lay-off.
Slot spent the majority of the second half visibly furious at his side for taking their foot off the gass and it is an issue that will concern the Dutchman, despite securing three points and bragging rights over their local rivals.
Here, Express Sport takes a look at how the Liverpool stars fared…
Liverpool player ratings vs Everton
Goalkeeper
Alisson – 6
Had little to do outside of picking the ball out from the back of the net when Gueye scored in a concerning start to the second half.
Defence
Conor Bradley – 6
His battle with Jack Grealish was perhaps the most intriguing of all individual duels on the pitch, and one that Conor Bradley struggled with at times, despite his determination. Grealish was continuously fed the ball, especially in the second half, and was able to force Gueye’s goal as a result.
TNT Sports commentator Ally McCoist said that Grealish wouldn’t be surprised if Bradley followed him out to the car park after full-time, such was his determination to stay tight to the winger.
Ibrahima Konate – 6
Used his presence well to deal with any threat that Beto, and then Thierno Barry in the second half, posed. But Everton’s threats largely came from wide areas.
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Virgil van Dijk sticking his tongue out at James Tarkowski. (Image: TNT Sports.)
Virgil van Dijk – 7
Virgil van Dijk sticking his tongue out at James Tarkowski, as another long Everton throw-in game to nothing, may be his lasting image from the derby, having once again failed to secure a clean sheet.
Milos Kerkez – 6
Did not get overawed by the Merseyside derby atmosphere, amid calls for Andy Robertson to keep his place, however he will be disappointed that Ndiaye was able to find enough space to set up Everton’s goal. Made a crucial back-post clearing header in the 89th minute.
Midfield
Ryan Gravenberch – 9
His opening goal showed incredible technique to meet the half volley and somehow hook it in the same direction, giving Jordan Pickford no chance of saving his effort, having burst forward from midfield.
Not content with one goal contribution, Gravenberch found Ekitike with an inch-perfect through ball and the Frenchman bagged his first Merseyside derby goal. A truly dominant performance.
Dominik Szoboszlai – 7
Given extra license to attack in Wirtz’s absence and his delicate flick set a move in motion that ended with Ekitike slotting past Pickford. It was a role that suited him as the Hungarian continues to stake his claim as one of the league’s top midfielders.
Alexis Mac Allister – 6
Still getting up to speed and a positive first half was followed by a second where he struggled to compete and was replaced by Curtis Jones on the hour mark.
Attack
Mohamed Salah – 8
Ruined a promising attack early on by playing the wrong pass, but more than made up for his error when clipping the ball to an onrushing Gravenberch moments later, who lifted the cross into the back of the net.
Clearly in the mood, he nearly took the roof of the net off with a powerful effort that just flew over. All of this was in the opening 15 minutes and the Egyptian remained a threat throughout.
Hugo Ekitike – 8
Given an opportunity to stamp an authority on that striker position, with Isak returning to the bench, and made no mistake with a goal after 29 minutes. Ekitike took his finish superly, having found a yard of space inside the box. He was at his confident best, with a few eye-catching flicks to boot.
It’s a good problem to have, but how Slot manages to fit both Ekitike and Isak into a Liverpool team already firing on all cylinders is a conundrum that may well continue all season long.
Cody Gakpo – 6
Ran into trouble far too often and there was little surprise when he was replaced by Wirtz after an hour.
Mohamed Salah and Ryan Gravenberch starred against Everton. (Image: Getty)
Substitutes
Curtis Jones (61′) – 6
Brought on to try and wrestle some control back in Liverpool’s favour, but he was unable to do so as anxiety continued to creep in on the red half of Merseyside.
Florian Wirtz (61′) – 6
Nearly got his first league goal for Liverpool but for Tarkowski powering in with a superb block, having already sent Vitalii Mykolenko with a dummy.
Alexander Isak (67′) – 7
A few neat touches and set up Salah with a clever ball through, but the Egyptian was slightly offside before his close-range attempt was blocked.
