Power Ranking the 20 Greatest Merseyside Derbies

The Merseyside derby is just around the corner, and with both Liverpool and Everton chasing hard for a European place in this year's Premier League, it could well be one of the classics of the modern era.

With that in mind, here's a look at 20 of the very best matches between the two clubs over the years—from the most recent encounters going right back to the 1800s and everywhere in between.

If Saturday's game compares to many of these, it will be one worth remembering for sure—for one reason or another!

20. The First Merseyside Derby

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It all began back in 1894; Saturday, 13 October was the date of the very first Merseyside derby, two years after the inception of Liverpool Football Club.

Everton, of course, were already in existence by then, and it was the elder side who ran out winners, 3-0, at Goodison Park.

Tom McInnes scored the very first Merseyside derby goal, followed by Alex Latta and Jack Bell.

19. Jamie Carragher's Testimonial

Jamie Carragher is well-known as a Liverpool legend, having just retired with the second-most appearances of any player in a Red shirt, but as a youngster, he was brought up an Everton fan.

In his testimonial, he scored for his team, Liverpool, but also then put through his own net to score for Everton, just that one time.

He cheekily nipped past Yakubu to slot a spot kick past his own goalkeeper.

The match wasn't important in the grand scheme of things, but as a memento and as a gesture to the city as a whole, the game was representative of lots of work that Carragher and his foundation have done.

18. Dan Gosling's Hidden Winner

Everton fans were left fuming with television coverage denying them a chance to see a winning goal in the Merseyside derby back in 2009.

Dan Gosling curled in a 118th-minute extra-time winning goal in the FA Cup replay, but many viewers missed the actual live event of the goal going in, with coverage only coming back on for the celebrations and replays.

In any event, Everton saw out the remaining minute or so to progress.

17. 1981 FA Cup Fourth Round, Everton 2-1 Liverpool

Another FA Cup fourth round, but more than 20 years earlier, and Everton were the winners once more.

A favourite amongst Blues fans for obvious reasons, this game was goalless until—despite the commentator's belief at the time—Avi Cohen put it through his own net after a Peter Eastoe shot was cleared off the line.

Imre Varadi and Jimmy Case also scored in the match, as Everton progressed.

16. The Highest-Scoring Derby Match, 1933

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The highest-scoring match ever between the two clubs came back in 1933.

Played at Anfield, Liverpool ran out 7-4 winners in the old First Division, after Everton had initially taken the lead.

Inevitably, Blues legend Dixie Dean was on the scoresheet twice, continuing to add to his total of 19 goals in 17 games against the Reds.

Tommy Johnson and Jimmy Stein also found the net for the away team, while Harold Barton was the Reds' hat-trick hero, aided by Alf Hanson, Tom Morrison, Harold Taylor and Syd Roberts.

15. Everton 1-3 Liverpool, Premier League, 2005-06

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Liverpool came to Everton in December 2005 as Champions of Europe and gave the Goodison side a timely reminder of why that was the case.

They dominated the Blues on their own patch in one of the finer Merseyside performances of recent times, with Djibril Cisse a somewhat surprising star of the show. He, Peter Crouch and Steven Gerrard scored the goals in a 3-1 win, with James Beattie hitting a consolation for the home team.

The teams were at opposite ends of the table at that point: Liverpool third, Everton 17th, and the fixture itself showed why.

14. Everton 1-0 Liverpool: The End of an Era of Kenny Dalglish

An FA Cup fifth-round second replay would be enough to make anyone sick of the sight of their rivals, but for Kenny Dalglish, it was the game previous which proved to be the final straw.

He resigned after the first replay in February '91, the third of four games between the teams in three weeks, citing health reasons as the need to step away from the game following the tribulations he had gone through after Hillsborough almost two years previous.

The second replay, then, was the Reds' first match in the post-Dalglish era, which Ronnie Moran took charge of.

Dave Watson scored the only goal of the game, as Everton finally triumphed 1-0.

13. "Get off the Pitch!"

October 1978 saw Andy King make Blues fans smile as he hit the winner in a 1-0 win at Goodison, a match which saw Everton close the gap on title rivals Liverpool.

It was a goal right out of the top drawer, too, as he spanked the ball into the top corner past Ray Clemence just shy of the hour mark.

The game is also remembered for a somewhat impatient police officer asking King and the television interviewer to move off the pitch at the end of the game—perhaps a Liverpool supporter!

12. Dirk Kuyt on the Spot

Penalties in the last minute of a derby can't be an easy thing to take, but Dirk Kuyt showed his nerveless aplomb to tuck away a winner in 2007 at Goodison.

He'd already scored one spot-kick to bring the Reds level after a Sami Hyypia own goal, and his late winner came after Lucas Leiva—on as a substitute for Gerrard, to much bemusement all-round at the time—had a shot blocked on the line by the arm of Phil Neville.

Both Neville and Tony Hibbert were sent off for conceding each penalty, scored thereafter by Kuyt.

11. Red Cards All Round, Stan in Goal

Red cards—not goals—were the order of the day as Everton beat Liverpool 1-0 at Anfield in 1999.

Sander Westerveld and Francis Jeffers were sent off for punching each other after a collision in the penalty area, and that was before Gerrard was also dismissed for a reckless challenge late on in the game.

Kevin Campbell scored the only goal of the game, but really, that was secondary to seeing Steve Staunton end the match playing as the Reds's goalkeeper.

10. Steven Gerrard Hat-Trick

Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard put three goals past Everton in a rare derby hat-trick not too long ago, as the Reds ran out 3-0 winners under Kenny Dalglish—his second spell in charge.

Gerrard now totals eight goals against the Blues, the joint-second highest of any Reds player—though trailing some distance behind Ian Rush's 25 strikes against his rivals!

9. Suarez and Carroll Win the FA Cup Semi-Final at Wembley

The two clubs met in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley in 2012, and despite Everton taking an early lead, it was Liverpool who won through to the final.

Record signings Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll led the late turnaround, with Carroll's winner coming just three minutes before full time.

A Sylvain Distin error was the catalyst for the comeback, with an underhit back-pass proving costly.

8. 4-4 FA Cup: Replays and More Replays

The game which prompted Kenny Dalglish's resignation was, in its own right, a complete classic.

A back-and-forth game ended 4-4 at Goodison Park, where Liverpool four times took the lead, only to see their rivals peg them back each time.

Graeme Sharp and Tony Cottee scored twice apiece for the Blues, with a Peter Beardsley brace and a goal each for Rush and John Barnes not enough for the Reds to win.

7. Everton 2-3 Liverpool, Gary McAllister Wins the Derby

The 2000-01 season was a special one for Liverpool, but it all seemed to kick into gear at the right time following a late, late derby winner from Gary McAllister.

The Reds won 3-2 at Goodison after twice taking the lead and being pegged back, with McAllister's free kick from more than 30 yards curling into the bottom corner in the last few seconds of injury time.

Liverpool, of course, went on to win three trophies that season, with McAllister playing a prominent part.

6. 2006-07 Premier League, Everton 3-0 Liverpool

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A mess of a performance from Liverpool and Pepe Reina in particular gifted Everton three points back in 2006-07 season, with Andy Johnson gleefully scoring twice to add to Tim Cahill's opener.

Some very bizarre shot-stopping techniques from the Reds' keeper were exploited by the Everton striker, which led to Everton's biggest win over Liverpool since 1964.

The result also left Everton six places ahead of the Reds in the table.

5. Rush Scores One, Rush Scores Two, Rush Scores Three and Rush Scores Four...

The game which spawned a song to last a generation and more, Ian Rush wrote his name into the Merseyside derby history books with a four-goal haul against Everton in 1982.

Mark Lawrenson also found the target as the Reds won 5-0 at Goodison Park.

4. Graeme Sharp's Stunner, 1984

Perhaps the greatest Merseyside goal ever—as far as Everton fans are concerned—Graeme Sharp hit this stunner at Anfield in '84, as the Blues won 1-0.

An absolute tonker from distance, Sharp showed good movement and control before beating Bruce Grobbelaar from range, which was later voted Goal of the Season.

3. Shankly's Finest Five

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One of Bill Shankly's best moments in charge of the Reds came in the 1965-66 season, when Liverpool beat Everton 5-0 at Anfield.

All the greats seemed to find the net that day. Tommy Smith, Roger Hunt, Willie Stevenson, Hunt again and Ian St. John all put the ball past the Toffees as the Reds ran riot.

Suitably, they absolutely walked the title that season with one of the finest teams the club has ever seen.

2. 1985-86 FA Cup Final

For many players involved, at least in the Red section, this was one of the best Merseyside derbies to date.

Liverpool ran out 3-1 winners at Wembley in the 1986 FA Cup final, but it wasn't until almost the hour mark that they scored their first goal and started to play, after Gary Lineker had given Everton a first-half lead.

Ian Rush and Craig Johnston turned the game around with a goal each inside six minutes, before Rush capped off the win and the trophy with his second, a few minutes before full-time.

1. FA Cup Final, 1989, Liverpool 3-2 Everton (AET)

The most poignant and memorable FA Cup meeting of all time, perhaps, just so also happened to be a complete classic.

Weeks after the Hillsborough disaster in 1989, which occurred in the semi-final, Liverpool had won through to the final itself and faced Everton in a repeat of the 1985-86 fixture. The game took place amid fans from both teams mixed in with each other, with cries of "Merseyside" solidarity heard all around Wembley.

The Reds went in front early on through John Aldridge, but Stuart McCall equalised with only seconds left of the 90 minutes. Substitute Ian Rush put Liverpool ahead in extra time, before a stunning second from McCall pegged them back again—only for Rush to nod the winner two minutes later.

This was a glorious end to what had been a tragic cup run and perhaps the single most identifiable Merseyside derby ever, for so many reasons.

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Match, player and other Merseyside derby data courtesy of LFChistory.net database.