Silva commends ‘fantastic’ Everton home support

Everton drew 0-0 against Liverpool in the 200th time the two sides have faced each other in top flight action in the league. It was mostly a cagey affair with the Blues creating little on their own and the visitors mostly misfiring.

After the game, manager Marco Silva spoke about the game to the BBC.

“I’m proud of my players and the desire they showed, and everything we did to try and win the match.

“It felt amazing in our stadium. Our fans were fantastic, amazing, and they pushed the team from the first minute. And the team didn’t give them the three points, but we tried everything that we could to achieve that.

“The fans were the twelfth man on the pitch.”

“It was a tough match but a balanced match. We had some moments that were better, the first twenty minutes of the first half, the last thirty minutes of the second.

“In that time we were better than them, controlling the game, but we had to always be careful of their counter attack.”

Silva was also asked about his team selections that saw Morgan Schneiderlin stay in the squad, and Richarlison give way to Bernard.

“We won the last game, and Morgan showed me in the previous fifteen days before the Cardiff game that he was ready to play.

“Of course Andre is a key player for us, having a fantastic season. What I want is put him at the same level as he has been at. The same is for Richarlison.”

With the latest battling performance, will he take the approach that every upcoming game is a derby?

“I told them before the Cardiff game that every match has to be a final for us. Cardiff played like it was a final.

“There are many games to play and many points to win before the end of the season. Nothing is finished for us.

“It’s our obligation to keep going, to fight and to achieve points for us.”

The visitor’s manager Jurgen Klopp resorted to form when questioned after the draw -

“[It was a] very difficult game for different reasons. I know people don’t like it when I say it, but the wind came from all different directions, the ball was in the air a lot.

“It’s not exactly what we wanted, but it’s easy to accept because it was a difficult game.”