Wayne Rooney‘s first Merseyside derby goal earned Everton a 1-1 draw at Anfield as Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp’s selection gamble backfired.
It was a moment the 32-year-old had dreamed about ever since making his Toffees debut way back in August 2002 but, having had to wait after more than a decade at Manchester United, when it came it was something of a gift.
The pent-up frustration was evident in the way he smashed home a 77th-minute penalty – awarded after Dejan Lovren needlessly fouled Dominic Calvert-Lewin – to cancel out Mohamed Salah‘s brilliant first-half strike and his celebration in front of the visiting fans was equally as exuberant.
Here are three things learned from Anfield.
IS SADIO MISSING BEING THE MAIN MANE?
Two negligent pieces of decision making ultimately cost Liverpool all three points.
One, of course was Dejan Lovren’s suicidal selection to put his hands into the back of Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Debate may reign over the legitimacy of the penalty but there’s no arguing the stupidity of the Croatian given that was Everton’s first touch in their box in the second half.
The other was Sadio Mane and his ignorance of three teammates awaiting a tap in only to drag his effort wide before half-time.
Granted, his performance overall was pretty poor but suggestions the Senegalese is feeling overshadowed by the emergence of Mohamed Salah are utterly far-fetched.
After all, Mane assisted Salah twice against West Ham and again against Stoke. Having been in out of the side, it’s more likely Mane was looking to get back into his stride with a goal.
Should he have passed it? Yes. It was poor decision making, nothing more, nothing less.
Sadio Mane drags his effort wide
ARROGANCE THE DOWNFALL
If criticism for the draw is levelled at anyone then it’s Jurgen Klopp.
No one questions the team selection if Mane makes the pass but the reality is the points were dropped and resting key figures Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho sent out the wrong message.
Klopp made 54 changes to his starting XI last season and already this term he’s made 59.
While rotation against midtable sides heading into the hectic festive period is more than reasonable, you would expect a Merseyside Derby to be an exception, regardless of positions in the table.
Ultimately, a lot of pressure was placed on Dominic Solanke as the spearhead and he didn’t deliver – the 20-year-old managed the fewest touches (34) of any outfield player in Liverpool’s starting XI.
Taking off Salah just after the hour mark was another sign of managerial arrogance as Klopp took Everton for granted.
He blamed the officials post-match but in truth he should be directing his vitriol at himself.
Jurgen Klopp talks to substitute Danny Ings
THE ARCH PRAGMATIST DELIVERS
Everton surrendered 21 percent of the possession, mustered 20 less shots than Liverpool (23) and had 383 touches of the ball to the host’s 951, yet they managed to sneak a point.
Sam Allardyce was never going to set his side out to go toe-to-toe with a team who had scored 12 goals in their last two games.
They were boring, horrible to watch and lacked any real attacking thrust but the pragmatism paid off and to that end Allardyce deserves credit.
It shouldn’t be seen as vindication of his brand of football but this weekend Allardyce and David Moyes took points off Klopp and Antonio Conte proving that sometimes football doesn’t win.
Allardyce: "They had three shots on target, we had two. That shows how we mastered a really good side."
— Everton FC News (@LivEchoEFC) December 10, 2017
