Liverpool took the bragging rights in the Merseyside derby on Saturday after Ryan Gravenberch and Hugo Ekitike netted in the first half for Arne Slot’s men.
Though it continued the hosts’ 100 per cent record this season and ensured they will be top of the Premier League at the weekend, it wasn’t without a scare as Idrissa Gueye pulled one back and a Jack Grealish-inspired effort almost earned the Toffees a point.
Here, Daily Mail Sport takes a look at the main talking points…
Hugo Ekitike’s goal against Everton helped Liverpool on their way to a 2-1 victory
Jack Grealish impressed for the Toffees but couldn’t prevent his side from coming up short in the Merseyside Derby
NOT PLAYED ON PAPER
David Moyes said on Friday that his main objective as Everton boss is to shorten the gulf between his team and their city rivals – and he needed to take just one look at the team-sheets to realise that is much easier said than done.
The fact the most expensive footballer in British history, £125million Alexander Isak, sat next to £116m Florian Wirtz on a star-studded substitutes’ bench simply highlighted the seismic chasm between Merseyside’s red and blue halves.
Even without the man described by Arne Slot as an ‘artist with a mean streak’ and the striker the club hopes can hit Erling Haaland levels, Liverpool made this contest look like a clash between men against boys.
Although they retreated and invited pressure in the second half – one teething problem of Slot’s new-look team – the champions still look miles better than any team in the division. And rivals must have been quaking at their effervescent display even without their two big-money buys.
One funny quirk of Slot’s Liverpool is that they never, ever blow teams away and there has always been a sense that they can get better and performances can improve. We said that all last season and now, with five wins from five, we are saying it again.
Maybe the Slot Machine is just an efficient winning monster who can chew up and spit out any team. And with one or both of Arsenal or Manchester City to drop points on Sunday, the Reds are rubbing their hands, looking down on the rest and knowing they can get even better.
Moyes has said his main objective at Everton is to shorten the gulf between them and Liverpool
EKITIKE TWICE THE PLAYER OF NUNEZ
Mohamed Salah had a pop at a fan account online for disrespecting Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz when it was claimed the new No 7 and No 9, Alexander Isak and Florian Wirtz, were a huge upgrade on those who wore those shirts last season.
So we will go careful in how we phrase this but, with the greatest respect to Nunez who had some memorable moments in a Reds shirt, Ekitike already seems like a more complete forward who will be well worth the £79m they paid for him.
Not just his calm finish, slotted through Jordan Pickford’s legs under pressure, but the Frenchman offers so much more in terms of all-round play – linking up with midfielders, dropping deep to receive the ball and popping up out wide to run at players.
Asked about Ekitike after the game, Slot said: ‘I am impressed but to the extent that we knew what we brought in, every other team in this league has two No 9s, we have two of excellent quality, like our competitors have as well.
‘Hugo is definitely not ready to play three 90 minutes in a week in the way we play, because we have a high press and Alex (Isak) has only trained two weeks with the team so to have now is definitely necessary and every top Premier League team has two No 9s.’
Ekitike already seems like a more complete forward than Darwin Nunez and will be well worth his £79m price tag
…AND FLYING DURCHMAN GRAVENBERCH IS A MANAGER’S DREAM
Ryan Gravenberch must be a dream to manage. He can pass and dictate the tempo like a prime Andrea Pirlo, he runs around like a dog putting in the hard yards out of possession – and now he can arrive into the penalty area late and score goals, too!
In his first months on Merseyside, the 23-year-old gave some interviews in which he said he styled his game on Zinedine Zidane, the great France and Real Madrid midfielder, and his goal here was something his idol would have been proud of.
Before readers accuse us of comparing the two, Gravenberch knows he has a lot to improve. One thing Slot is trying to do is to help last year’s Premier League Young Player of the Season with his offensive game, aiming to get him into more attacking spaces.
‘As he did last season, for every player it is the same, you need a team around you to show how good you are,’ said Slot on Gravenberch. ‘First half, it was a joy to watch.’
Ryan Gravenberch can pass, run around like a dog and arrive late in the penalty area to score
EVERTON HAVE 9 PROBLEMS
Hardly a shocking revelation here but Everton have a real problem in their strike department with neither Beto or Thierno Barry showing their best at Anfield.
Portuguese forward Beto played the first half and just looked a yard off the pace – his first touch let him down and he was beaten to several loose balls by Liverpool defenders Ibrahima Konate and Virgil van Dijk.
Barry is 22 and is clearly still settling into the Premier League and its intensity after a £27million summer switch from Villarreal and, despite a lovely Maradona turn in the second half, also did not contribute enough.
David Moyes has some supremely gifted footballers at his disposal including Jack Grealish, Iliman Ndiaye, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Tyler Dibling – but a marksman to smash in the goals is missed and could be the difference between mid-table and a top-half push.
Everton have a real problem in their striker department, with neither Beto or Thierno Barry impressing at Anfield
Conor Bradley put in a good performance up against Grealish, though was perhaps lucky not to pick up a yellow card
BRADLEY EDGES GREALISH BATTLE… JUST
He was lucky to not be yellow carded and was far from perfect but Conor Bradley had a pleasing performance against the effervescent Grealish, one of the league’s most in-form players.
Grealish played a role in Idrissa Gana Gueye’s goal but, otherwise, he was quiet. A hard player to contain even when he is not in form, Northern Ireland international Bradley did a solid job having got the nod over Jeremie Frimpong.
On the other side, Milos Kerkez put behind him a testing week – in which he was hooked after 38 minutes at Burnley and then dropped or rotated, whichever way you look at it, against Atletico Madrid – to play well at left back.
