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MOTD- Everton 3-3 Liverpool

By on November 23, 2013
Romelu Lukaku celebrates the second of his goals in one of the best ever Merseyside derbies.

Romelu Lukaku celebrates the second of his goals in one of the best ever Merseyside derbies.

This was one for the ages.  Everton and Liverpool played out their third straight draw in the Merseyside Derby, but excited the audience with one of the best matches of the season.  To heck with the notion that derbies have become cagey affairs.

Six goals littered perhaps one of the best Merseyside derbies for a long while, three in the first nineteen minutes, and three in the final nineteen minutes leaving for no shortage of drama.  Romelu Lukaku looked to have given Everton their first derby win since 2010 after netting a late goal, only for a Daniel Sturridge header in the eighty-ninth minute.  However, both managers should be happy with the point that catapulted their side into the top five of the Premier League.

The thrilling night, which Liverpool manager Brendan Rodgers labeled “Magnificent”,  kicked off with a near immediate goal from Philippe Coutinho.  Steven Gerard whipped a corner into the box, and Luis Suarez flicked it on to Coutinho at the far post for the Brazilian to bring down and coolly volley into the back of the net in miles of space.  It was 1-0 to Liverpool, despite the fact that Everton had dominated the opening few minutes.  Yet the home side made a quick job of equalizing, returning the blistering atmosphere to Goodison Park after only eight minutes.  Leighton Baines curled a free-kick into the Liverpool penalty area from the right and although Martin Skrtel rose up to head it clear, the Slovak completely mistimed it, allowing the ball to fall to Kevin Mirallas.  Much like Coutinho, Mirallas tapped it home from six yards to open the scoring for the Toffees’.

Everton continued to annihilate Liverpool possession wise, but somehow managed to once again find themselves behind in the nineteenth minute when Gareth Barry clipped Suarez thirty yards out from goal.  Cristiano Ronaldo even would have had trouble with the distance, but Suarez curled a low stunner around the wall and inches past the fully extended fingers of Tim Howard into the bottom corner of the net.  Yet the chaos continued as Ross Barkley cut in from the left in the twentieth minute and curled a cross into the box, but nobody got a touch on it and Simon Mignolet was forced into some brilliant goalkeeping to tip it wide of the far post.  The match whizzed on at top speed, and nearly had some critical refereeing decisions when Mirallas went in for a stupid knee-high challenge for the ball and landed his studs right into the knee of Suarez.  Although blood could obviously be seen seeking out of Suarez’s leg, referee Phil Dowd only decided to show Mirallas yellow.

The encounter didn’t even drop it’s break-neck pace as the match hurried into the second half, with both sides nearly taking the lead before the clock even reached the hour mark.  Barkley sent Gerard Deulofeu in down the middle in the fifty-fifth minute, and the Barcelona loanee spritned into the box but had his low effort blocked by an onrushing Mignolet.  Four minutes later it was Liverpool fans who found themselves disbelieving their eyes at a missed sitter when Suarez tip-toed through the Everton defense and poked it through to Joe Allen.  In miles of space Allen simply needed to place it past Howard, yet somehow managed to curl it wide of the post after Howard had dived the wrong way.

Liverpool then suffered a tense twenty minute period in which Romelu Lukaku showed his brilliance, while Red’s were all the time ruing Allen’s miss.  Lukaku first threatened when he was sent in down the left, and only just had his flicked finish blocked by pure luck of the shot hitting outstretched arm of Mignolet.  In the sixty-ninth minute Barkley threaded a through ball in towards the run of the former Chelsea forward, who had his first time effort once again blocked by Mignolet.  The Belgian international goalkeeper was forced into more heroics as Lukaku’s twenty-five yards free-kick took a huge deflection off the wall, leaving Mignolet to incredibly adjust his body mid-air to tip it wide.  However the rebound fell out wide, and after ping-pong inside the box Lukaku placed a low shot into the bottom corner from eight yards to finally get his first goal of the match.

Having scored, Lukaku did not stop, with the towering forward bagging his second of the night after Suarez had his header amazingly blocked by Howard to complete the comeback.   The 20-year-old rose up at the near post to flick an Everton corner from the left into the top corner, erupting the home crowd.  As the clocked crept towards ninety-minutes Everton looked to have won it, only for substitute Daniel Sturridge to pop in with a late equalizer.  The 6′ 2″ forward rose up highest at the near post to glance a beautiful header from Gerard’s free-kick from the right into the top corner of the far post, leveling the match once again.  Thus a nervy four minutes of stoppage time ensued, but neither side could put one final cherry on the cake to win it for their side.
Man of the Match: Romelu Lukaku

About Alex Morgan

Alex Morgan, founder of Football Every Day, lives and breaths football from the West Coast of the United States in California. Aside from founding Football Every Day in January of 2013, Alex has also launched his own journalism career and hopes to help others do the same with FBED. He covers the San Jose Earthquakes as a beat reporter for QuakesTalk.com and his work has also been featured in the BBC's Match of the Day Magazine.