Film Focus: Breaking Down Everton's Thrilling 3-3 Derby Draw with Liverpool

Merseyside derbies always produce something special.

But this weekend was simply something else.

Two goals in the opening 10 minutes quickly set the tone for what was no doubt going to be a frantic afternoon at Goodison Park. The Reds pulled ahead courtesy of a moment of magic from Luis Suarez before two goals by Romelu Lukaku seemingly stole the win back for Everton—only for lightning to strike twice as Daniel Sturridge headed home just before the final whistle.

Throw in some hefty challenges from Kevin Mirallas (which Twitter universally agreed should have been a red) and Steven Gerrard (which was by no means pleasant either), and once again, we had a really tense and thrilling Merseyside derby on our hands.

It might have just seemed like an all-out attacking affair, but this one still had the same subtle tactics and nuances that make football so intriguing to watch.

Let's break down the film and see just how this one panned out how it did.

Ross Barkley Exposes Steven Gerrard, Joe Allen

The seasons so far of Ross Barkley and Steven Gerrard could not be more different. Both have proven their worth to their respective clubs—that cannot be up for debate—but the truth is that one continues to defy expectations and announce himself as a world-class midfielder, while the other is battling for permanent selection in Brendan Rodgers’ starting side.

Having dropped further and further down the field as his career has gone on, Gerrard now finds himself in what is, essentially, a holding midfielder role. He loves to get forward and help the attack (which is hardly a surprise given his vast array of attacking skills), but the veteran Englishman is much more of a box-to-box man than the attacking force he used to be.

In this fixture, Gerrard was partnered alongside Joe Allen and Lucas Leiva in the middle of the field. The trio was to try and rotate the space in behind Lukaku at the top of the attack and stop Everton from leaving their mark in the attacking third, and restrict the likes of Barkley and James McCarthy from moving into the middle of the field to support both Lukaku and Kevin Mirallas. For the most part, the trio did just that, and while Gerrard did struggle somewhat to adjust to the pace and timing of the match, he was by no means a pedestrian and bystander in the Reds defence.

Yet the threat of Barkley was always there for Everton, with the youngster’s ability to drop deeper on the field pertinent in their ability to find such success against the Reds' back four.

Having thrived in attacking positions this season, Barkley was forced to play much deeper than usual with the presence of Gerrard and particularly Lucas in central midfield, but he adjusted to this role perfectly. He ran at defenders with ease, picked the right moments to release attackers, and was perhaps very unlucky to finish the match without at least one or two assists to his name.

This more "complete" central midfield performance from Barkley was one that showed the new attacking threat that he can provide under Roberto Martinez.

In the image below, we can see Barkley trying to take on the defence and bring Everton back into the match after Suarez rocketed a free-kick into the bottom corner of Tim Howard’s goal. Liverpool’s set-up at the back is sound, but Barkley manages to skip past a defender into some space and isolate right-back Glen Johnson just outside of the Reds’ penalty box.

In times gone by, Everton’s more "conventional" outlets would have been one of two options. The ball could have either been played wide to Leighton Baines down the left-flank (who has made a career masquerading up from defensive positions and then whipping the ball into the box), or he could have played it in behind Johnson to a central attacker. In the image above, the most likely run here would come from Steven Pienaar (which would likely drag Martin Skrtel out of position as well).

Both are options we've come to expect from the Toffees over the past few seasons, and it must be noted that both are certainly good options to play. They both keep the Reds on the back foot and try to find space against a good defensive line. However, what Barkley provides here is a third attacking threat that they haven’t had before, and one that brings another side of the field to life.

Barkley’s decision to cut back here (as Johnson drops off inside the box to cover the expected run from Pienaar) suddenly opens up a mountain of space in the middle of the field. Particularly against a team employing one or two defensive central midfielders, this decision can isolate defenders (seen in both Lucas and Gerrard here) and cause the defence to think twice about what the next move might be. Baines is still in position for the pass, as is Pienaar, but now Barkley has the potential to run across the top of the box or play in a deep ball into the box for his attackers to contest.

He chooses the latter option, and it takes a superb bit of strength from Agger to stop Lukaku getting on the end of the ball (as well as a fine save from Simon Mignolet to prevent the cross from going in). The youngster had so much time and space because the Reds weren't expecting him to shift away from these "conventional outlets" as I've dubbed them, and it stands to reason therefore, that if he continues like this, Everton’s attack will simply become even more dynamic.

The balance for Barkley is to understand when he needs to play to his team’s strengths—playing wide to Baines, dinking a little pass in behind the full-backs—and when he needs to take the game on by trying to beat a man one-on-one or playing an audacious 30-40 yard pass across field.

For the most part, though, this balance was something that he did well against Liverpool and a key reason why Everton probably walked away with a slight win in the battle of central midfield.

Gerard Deulofeu Brings Romelu Lukaku Back to Life

Lukaku came into this fixture as Everton's best attacking weapon up front, and was clearly a marked man from the moment that the opening whistle blew.

Either Agger or Skrtel looked to play tight to the big Belgian whenever the Toffees were in attack, and while he did receive a slight chance off Gerrard's turnover inside the opening 15 minutes (which drew a superb save from Mignolet), Liverpool actually did a pretty good job of shutting down whatever impact Lukaku thought he might have had at the top of Everton's attack.

That all changed in the second half, but not as you might have thought.

Baines tried to play through a foot injury but was unsuccessful, and quickly subbed off after half-time for the more attacking-minded Gerard Deulofeu. A Barcelona youngster, Deulofeu possesses great dribbling skill and quickness with the ball at his feet, and played in a more central role by Martinez (rather than out on the wing), it was hoped that he would offer Everton's attack another dimension.

What he did was essentially free Lukaku at the top of the attack.

Both Skrtel and Agger still looked to pick up the striker, but with Deulofeu and Barkley running free in the middle of the pitch, the Reds' defence was unable to settle as they would have liked. Gerrard and Lucas struggled to adjust to the pace and quickness of the young pair, and in doing, put more pressure on their central defenders to keep the dangerous Lukaku in check.

Of course, with through balls and quick passes coming, it was always going to be a tough mission for Agger and Skrtel and it's no surprise that they struggled towards the end.

But the turning point was the addition of Deulofeu.

Look at the image below from when Barkley plays through Lukaku.

On first glance, it's a superb ball from the midfielder and a great run from the striker, which it is. But it's also interesting to see the No. 10-esque position that Deulofeu has managed to get himself into—catching the eye of both central defenders, who have to account for Deulofeu as well given that he's simply waltzed his way past the likes of Gerrard and Allen in the middle. Because the midfielders don't track back and pick him up, he becomes the defenders' problem.

This creates just the slightest hesitation from Agger, who, on the turn of Lukaku, is now looking to shut down Deulofeu just as much as he is trying to stop Lukaku.

The same happened when Lukaku went through on goal later in the match, which was again met by a superb save from the Liverpool goalkeeper. In this instance, it's Skrtel who is drawn out of position trying to shut down Deulofeu when Gerrard should have filled that role. Deulofeu is able to work the ball in behind the line to his striker then—who does well to recognise that Skrtel is out of position—and the move is perhaps a tough unlucky not to finish with the ball in the back of the net.

Deulofeu's presence forced the hesitation from Liverpool's central defensive pairing, brought them out of their solid partnership at the back, and freed Lukaku as well.

That's not to blame them solely, though, with the likes of Lucas and Gerrard definitely increasing the pressure by not picking up Deulofeu in the middle of the field. Liverpool should consider themselves fortunate, actually, given how much space and impact Deulofeu had on the day that this was not a more experienced No. 10 such as Ozil, Oscar or Juan Mata taking advantage.

Because if it was, it may very well have finished differently from 3-3 in the end.

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