Everton's pragmatism their downfall against Liverpool | OneFootball

David Moyes’ plan for dealing with league leaders Liverpool in the Anfield derby was a sensible one on paper.

After Burnley had so much success sitting back against Liverpool last weekend, shutting the visitors out until conceding a penalty in the 95th minute, he aimed to do the same, with an injection of flair from his creative wide players.

Everton started the game in a low block, ceding possession to the home side, with Beto the only player not sitting behind the ball.

But when Everton tried to play out, Arne Slot’s team were well prepared. Any time the ball came to Jack Grealish or Iliman Ndiaye, Liverpool crowded them out, overwhelming the wingers with two or three midfielders.

Everton’s attack was too one-dimensional; Liverpool knew that the plan was for Everton’s wingers to dribble out or look to find Beto with a through ball, so they weren’t worried about leaving space in the centre of the field, as Everton weren’t trying to find the spare man.

The defensive plan fell apart when Liverpool got their opener in the tenth minute with their first shot on target, a well-played through ball into the space behind Everton’s defense, ending in a dinked finish from Ryan Gravenberch.

Liverpool’s defensive weaknesses were clear when Everton were able to actually get the ball into their half, which was rarely. In the 27th minute, a nice body feint from Jack Grealish opened up the left flank for him, and he was able to thread the ball into Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, whose shot flashed over the bar. It was a sign of what the visitors were capable of if they were only able to play through Liverpool’s press.

Unfortunately, Liverpool punished Everton’s momentum, quickly moving the ball from back to front and finding Hugo Ekitike, who was left unmarked, returning from an offside position, and slotted home Liverpool’s second.

The half-time deficit forced David Moyes into taking risks, letting Idrissa Gueye and James Garner get further up the pitch to battle it out with Liverpool’s midfield.

This change made all the difference. In the first half, Liverpool won the battle for second balls, winning 54% of ground duels and 56% of aerial duels. As well as winning more tackles and interceptions.

In the second half, it was a completely different story. Everton won more tackles, and made more interceptions and blocks. The visitors also won 61% of ground duels, winning a total of 31 duels to Liverpool’s 24.

Unfortunately, the two-goal deficit was too much for Everton to overcome despite getting one back in the 58th minute.

Everton’s safety-first approach to visiting Anfield was a sensible one, but in the end, it probably cost them, as once the visitors decided to move out of their shape and compete with Liverpool, they arguably had the better of them.