Liverpool vs. Everton: Reliving 10 Memorable Merseyside Derby Moments
As Liverpool welcome Everton to Anfield on Saturday, the defining trait of the Merseyside derby dictates that both sides’ poor early-season form will go out the window as they take to the field for the 223rd installment.
In the Premier League, both Liverpool and Everton have struggled, the Reds are currently in 11th place with just six points from five games and the Blues are a point behind in 14th. Their midweek Capital One Cup fixtures saw Liverpool having to agonize through a 14-13 penalty shootout victory following a 2-2 draw with Middlesbrough, while Everton were dumped out by Crystal Palace.
With Brendan Rodgers’ side struggling to replicate their stunning attacking form of last season, Liverpool will head into Saturday’s fixture knowing that it will be tough to pull off a result as resounding as their 4-0 rout in January, one of their best performances in a derby.
As we look forward to the next installment of one of the explosive fixtures in English football, let’s relive 10 of the greatest moments to have taken place between the two teams of Liverpool.
*All clips courtesy of YouTube.com.
10. Don Hutchison’s No-Goal
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We start the list with one of the all-time weirdest moments in Merseyside derby history.
In April 2000, during injury time of an otherwise bland 0-0 draw at Goodison Park, Liverpool goalkeeper Sander Westerveld was about to send a free kick forward in anticipation of Graham Poll’s final whistle.
The clearance happened to hit the back of Everton midfielder Don Hutchison, sending the ball past Westerveld and into the empty Liverpool net. Cue massive cheers from the Everton faithful and a massive red face from the Dutch goalkeeper.
Yet Poll had apparently blown for time as Westerveld kicked the ball, disallowing the goal, and the match had been considered over before the ball nestled in the Liverpool net, meaning Hutchison’s inadvertent effort was chalked off.
9. Sandy Brown’s Epic Own Goal
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Following an almost all-time embarrassing moment from a Liverpool goalkeeper comes a nailed-on historical own goal by an Everton left-back.
Already trailing 1-0 to an Emlyn Hughes header in December 1969 at Goodison Park, Everton allowed themselves to go further behind via one of the most technically complete own goals in the history of the English game.
Sandy Brown’s diving header from a cross was meant to be a clearance, but it instead sailed perfectly past his own 'keeper,Gordon West, and into the top corner.
Certainly a perfect theatrical milestone to be captured in color by the BBC cameras for the first time in a Merseyside derby.
8. Steven Gerrard’s Derby Hat Trick
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Before his current deployment at the base of the Liverpool midfield, there was a time when Steven Gerrard was a frequent match-winner for the Reds. On his 400th Premier League game in March 2012, the Reds captain achieved a milestone he could only have dreamed of when he was a kid.
His first goal was the pick of the lot. Martin Kelly’s low shot had been parried by Tim Howard, but Gerrard had the composure and technique to lift the loose ball over Everton’s goalkeeper and retreating defenders from 25 yards.
Luis Suarez, then one of Kenny Dalglish’s few successful signings, created two goals for his skipper, and Gerrard walked home with the match ball tucked safely under his shirt.
7. Steven Gerrard’s Eyes
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As passion takes over one of the most hot-blooded fixtures in world football, goal celebrations make up a considerable chunk of our list of memorable moments in the Merseyside derby.
Seventh on our list came as recent as January this year, and again features Steven Gerrard, whose early header set Liverpool on their way to a famous and ruthless 4-0 rout of their neighbors at Anfield.
Sure, Daniel Sturridge’s clinical finish and audacious lob and Luis Suarez’s brilliant run through half the pitch to finish past Howard were all impressive goals, but there was something about the skipper’s celebration that just made his opener memorable—and scary.
As he wheeled away in celebration, Gerrard’s eyes lit up—no, almost exploded—out of the sheer emotion he felt, perhaps at Liverpool finally making a statement near the top end of the Premier League table again.
6. Ian Rush’s Four-Goal Haul
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Steven Gerrard has had his fair share of derby-day exploits, but trumping him in the goalscoring department is Ian Rush, whose record-breaking exploits will remain etched in the memories of older-generation Liverpool fans.
In November 1982, Liverpool traveled to Goodison Park and came away resounding 5-0 winners, with Rush scoring four goals in a one-sided rout—a post-war record for goals by a single player in a Merseyside derby.
What made it even sweeter for Reds fans—and even more bitter for Blues fans—was that Rush had grown up as an Everton fan. His goalscoring exploits would've ensured his place in Liverpool history, but the four-goal haul at the home of the rivals across Stanley Park enshrines his legacy.
5. Luis Suarez’s Celebratory Dive
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Back to the celebrations, and this one, conjured by a mad genius, was the stuff of legend—even Everton fans will admit as much.
Having been accused by then-Blues manager David Moyes of diving before the derby in October 2012, Luis Suarez did what he does best—prove his critics wrong by turning in an exceptional performance, this time at Goodison Park.
After setting up Liverpool's opener—a Leighton Baines own goal—Suarez celebrated his goal by running toward Moyes in the Everton dugout and diving at his feet, a celebration that clearly impressed Moyes—and one he would've repeated, had the Blues gotten a late winner, according to the Telegraph.
The irony, of course, was that Everton's Phil Neville was booked for diving in the match.
4. Robbie Fowler Eats Grass
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Rounding off our collection of goal celebrations is the indisputable champion, Robbie Fowler, whose controversial celebration will go down as one of the most iconic.
Subject to taunts from Everton fans suggesting that he'd been taking drugs, Fowler scored two goals during the derby at Anfield in April 1999 and ran to the byline, pretending to snort cocaine in retaliation.
Then-Reds manager Gerard Houllier tried to sweep the incident under the carpet, claiming famously that Fowler was pretending to eat grass, but Fowler earned a four-game ban and a £32,000 fine for his troubles.
3. Gary McAllister’s Legendary Free Kick
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How do you go down in Liverpool history? A 93rd-minute winner at Goodison Park—a 44-yard free kick at that—is a pretty good way to do it.
And that's exactly what Gary McAllister did, winning the April 2001 derby at the death after an entertaining game looked set to end in a point apiece.
McAllister had famously arrived on a surprise Bosman transfer from Coventry City aged 35 and proved to be an astute acquisition with his composure and experience, but this was the goal that ensured his place in Liverpool history.
2. Tony Cottee Brings Down Kenny Dalglish’s Reign
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The dramatic 4-4 draw in February 1991 would've gone down in history regardless, but it was the aftermath of the game that meant it transpired to be so much more than just an eight-goal thriller.
Tony Cottee, a late substitute for Everton scored two late goals to twice drag the Blues back on level terms at Goodison Park, and it proved to be too much to handle for then-manager Kenny Dalglish, who after many years claimed that he knew he "needed to get away from the pressure" after failing to act on a defensive change, according to the Guardian.
With the events of Hillsborough still weighing heavily on Dalglish and the Anfield club, especially considering the work Dalglish had personally done for the families of the victims, it had gotten too much to bear for the legendary Scot, and he announced his shock retirement just two days after the game.
It truly was the end of an era.
1. Merseyside United
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But no matter how long this fixture continues to take place, there will always be one defining moment from the Merseyside derby that sets it apart as a spectacle for football fans, and unsurprisingly, it involves memories of Hillsborough as well.
Not just any Hillsborough memory, though. The 1989 FA Cup final took place just five weeks after the Hillsborough disaster when the incident still visibly hurt not just Liverpool fans, but their neighbors from the city as well.
Both sets of supporters traveled down to Wembley with the incident fresh in their minds, and they proceeded to commemorate those who lost their lives with a united show of support in the stands.
It was a moving moment before a memorable game that even Blues fans won't begrudge the Reds from winning 3-2 in extra time.
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