Liverpool 2-1 Everton: Banter

Everton fought hard at Anfield today. It wasn’t enough. I know you’re tired of hearing that. I am too. Stuff happened, though.

• Sam Allardyce indicated that Everton would attack more in this match, and they did indeed. The end product wasn’t always there, but the Blues looked better in possession and Dominic Calvert-Lewin had several good chances to get on the service of Yannick Bolasie and Jonjoe Kenny.
• It’s been two atrocious games in a row for Mason Holgate. He conceded the penalty that James Milner scored, and initiated a ridiculous fracas with Roberto Firmino that resulted in a he-said-he-said with the referee that I’m confident we’ll be hearing more about, whether on social media or by way of the FA. Mason should have been booked for two-handing the Brazilian over the Anfield ad boards.
• Outside of Milner’s penalty, Liverpool created nowhere near what they did in the previous fixture. That’s in part thanks to a dogged Everton defense led by Phil Jagielka, but the increased possession helped, too.
• Those two factors allowed Everton to stay in the game, and strike on the break. Yannick Bolasie did Joel Matip dirty, and found Ademola Lookman down the left. For some reason Phil Jagielka was flying down the right, and Ade picked him out. The captain slid a ball to Gylfi Sigurdsson, and a brilliant one time finish tied the game.
• Unfortunately, narrative decided to take over. Virgil van Dijk benefited from a rare mistake by Jordan Pickford, and Liverpool’s record signing headed in a late corner. There simply wasn’t enough time left for a toothless Everton attack to make any headway.
• Somehow, Yannick Bolasie went the distance. It was curious that Aaron Lennon wasn’t in the squad, particularly with no word of an injury. Is Azza headed out this month?
• It wasn’t a bad performance by Everton by any stretch, and that’s the truth. Which meant this loss hurts even more.

I dunno. Cenk Tosun is in. That’s good, I guess. I’m tired.