Liverpool rose to the top of the Premier League table and earned the Merseyside derby bragging rights with a 2-0 win over a 10-man Everton crop at Anfield.
Despite playing most of the game with an extra man following Ashley Young’s dismissal, the Reds were lacklustre for the most part, but two Mohamed Salah strikes inside the final 15 minutes saw the hosts over the line in an otherwise tepid affair.
As Jurgen Klopp fielded Ryan Gravenberch, Alexis Mac Allister and Dominik Szoboszlai in the starting lineup for the first time, Everton boss Sean Dyche kept faith with the same 11 players from their 3-0 beating of Bournemouth two weekends ago.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin held off the threat of Beto to lead the line and directed a header into the arms of Alisson Becker in the opening seconds, but Liverpool soon began to control possession as expected and looked a particular threat on the counter-attack.
Everton were more than happy to commit bodies forward but were nearly made to pay for it on two occasions inside the opening 20 minutes; a pair of stunning last-ditch challenges from Young and Amadou Onana saved their teammates’ bacon as the Reds surged forward.
Dwight McNeil’s blushes were then spared in the 27th minute, as Salah robbed the ex-Burnley man of the ball and tried to bend a curling strike into the top corner, but his effort was a fraction too high.
Everton could pat themselves on the back for their defensive efforts, but Young – who was already on a yellow card – got a bit too tight to Luis Diaz in the 37th minute, bringing down the Colombian on the edge of the box and being made to take the walk of shame.
Craig Pawson paused for a couple of moments before brandishing the red card, but Liverpool could not make the extra man count in the dying moments of the first half, where Trent Alexander-Arnold and Szoboszlai both sent long-range rockets over the top.
Dyche responded to Young’s sending-off with a double defensive change at the break, sacrificing McNeil and Jack Harrison for Nathan Patterson and Michael Keane, while Klopp had seen enough after a flat 17 minutes of the second period, introducing Harvey Elliott and Darwin Nunez into the fray.
Liverpool were fortunate not to have gone down to 10 themselves in the 65th minute, though, as the already-booked Ibrahima Konate prevented Beto from latching onto a through ball but was only given a talking-to before making way for Joel Matip.
The Reds were crucially on the right end of another officiating decision in the 75th minute, though, as a Diaz cross struck Keane’s outstretched arm, and Pawson awarded the hosts a penalty following a quick check of the monitor.
Salah unsurprisingly stepped up to the 12-yard mark and blasted a thunderous penalty into the side of the net to belatedly break the deadlock, to which Everton had little response in the final 15 minutes.
Heading into a nine-minute added-time period, Liverpool once again tried their luck from distance through Elliott, whose stinging drive was tipped onto the crossbar by Pickford, but there was nothing that the England international could do about Salah’s second in the seventh minute of added time.
Turning defence to attack in the blink of an eye, Mac Allister played a superb pass out to the fresh-legged Nunez, who strode forward and laid off Salah to calmly finish first time from just inside the box.
Liverpool’s sixth successive home win in all competitions sees the Reds overtake Tottenham Hotspur into first place on goal difference, while Everton remain in 16th place, just three points clear of the drop zone.
Klopp’s side now have four full days to recover for Thursday’s Europa League showdown against Toulouse, while the Toffees travel to West Ham United in eight days time.
