Everton 0-0 Liverpool: Yawn

Everton hosted a rotated Liverpool side at Goodison Park today, and for huge portions of the match decided that a derby win wasn’t worth chasing. Whether by instruction or lack of motivation, it was - yet again - embarrassing.

• On paper, at least, Everton’s lineup made sense, especially in midfield. Credit to Sam Allardyce for accomplishing the most basic of tactical tasks - a #6, an 8, and a 10. As a result, Morgan Schneiderlin had one of his better matches of the season (yes, it’s a low bar to clear).
• The trouble with picking the right players, though, is you still have to give them the right instructions. Having Yannick Bolasie and Theo Walcott track back into their own penalty area was not the right instructions. You’re at home. Don’t be a coward.
• Jordan Pickford was good. Again.
• Only when Wayne Rooney and Yannick Bolasie were removed did the game come alive. Seamus Coleman got into it with Danny Ings, and Dominic Calvert-Lewin was excellent off the bench.
• As a fan, it’s exhausting to go this long without beating your main rival. It’s even more exhausting to not even try. Sure, the last fifteen minutes of the match were one-way traffic towards Loris Karius, but when you leave all the effort that late you end up with what you deserve.
• There were several chances for the Blues to win the game late, particularly through Cenk Tosun, Seamus Coleman, and Calvert-Lewin. Nobody converted. That’s how this season has gone. After 75 minutes of utter lethargy and inaction, nobody particularly deserved to convert, either.
• Cenk Tosun deserves better than this. Theo Walcott deserves better than this. You deserve better than this. These are players who know how to play attacking football, and they’re not allowed to - even in the comfort of one of England’s most hallowed grounds.
• Three derbies this season. One loss, two draws. I’ve gotten married and had children - two - since the last time the Blues beat Liverpool. Sickening.

Too much respect was shown to an under-strength Liverpool side. Too much disinterest in playing progressively. It ended as it should have - 0-0.