Modern-day Derbies
During the 1960s Liverpool and Everton were regular winners of domestic trophies, but while Liverpool went from strength to strength in the 1970s and 1980s, Everton went through a relatively barren spell after their 1970 title triumph and did not win a major trophy for the next 14 years.
However, Everton started to emerge as a serious threat to Liverpool's dominance of the domestic scene following the appointment of Howard Kendall as manager at the start of the 1981–82 season. The first Merseyside derby that Kendall oversaw was at Anfield on 7 November, when his side lost 3–1 to Bob Paisley's. This saw Liverpool standing seventh in the league and Everton 13th. An identical scoreline followed in the return game at Goodison Park in late March, by which time Liverpool had overcome a dismal start to the season to muscle in on a title race which they eventually won, while Everton were still mid-table.
In 1982–83, the final season of Bob Paisley's management before he retired to make way for Joe Fagan, Liverpool were champions once again with Everton finishing mid-table, and the most notable of the two derbies occurred in early November when Liverpool triumphed 5–0 at Goodison Park. The return match at Anfield in mid-March brought a goalless draw.
1983–84 was the season when Everton (who won the FA Cup at the end of the campaign) really started to emerge as a serious threat to Liverpool. Though Liverpool won the league title and Everton still couldn't even make the top five, Liverpool needed a replay to see off Everton 1–0 in the League Cup final at Wembley. The Anfield derby in early November saw Liverpool triumph 3–0, while the clash at Goodison Park four months later ended in a 1–1 draw.
The 1984–85 season began with a Merseyside derby in the FA Charity Shield at Wembley, when league champions Liverpool faced FA Cup winners Everton in a game which Everton won 1–0 due to an own goal by Bruce Grobbelaar. The first league clash came on 20 October 1984, when a 1–0 win for Everton at Anfield saw Howard Kendall's team occupy fourth place in the league and show signs of challenging for the title for the first time in his four seasons in charge, while Liverpool were a lowly 17th and just 2 points outside the relegation zone. Liverpool's final game of the season came on 23 May when they lost 1–0 to Everton (who still had two games left to play) at Goodison Park. Everton had been crowned champions by this stage, while Liverpool had rallied since their terrible start to the season to occupy second place.
1985–86 was perhaps the most exciting season for the fans of both clubs, as Liverpool and Everton battled it out for both the league title and the FA Cup. The first Merseyside derby of the season came at Goodison Park on 21 September 1985 and was won 3–2 by Liverpool, who stood second behind Manchester United while Everton occupied sixth place. Everton triumphed 2–0 in the return match at Anfield five months later, by which time Everton had just taken over from Manchester United as league leaders and Liverpool were eight points behind them in second place. The climax to this exciting campaign came at Wembley Stadium when Liverpool and Everton contested the first all Liverpool FA Cup final on 10 May 1986. An early goal by Gary Lineker suggested that Everton could gain revenge on Liverpool for beating them to the league title by defeating them in the FA Cup final, but in the second half the tables were turned as a double from Ian Rush and another goal from Craig Johnston made Liverpool only the fifth English club to complete the double.
The FA Charity Shield for 1986 was shared between Liverpool and Everton, who drew 1–1 at Wembley, but the first league derby of the season between the two clubs did not happen until late November in a goalless draw at Goodison Park. Both clubs were challenging for the title at this stage alongside Arsenal (leaders), Nottingham Forest and unlikely contenders including Luton Town and Coventry City. The League Cup quarter final on 21 January 1987 saw Liverpool win 1–0 at Goodison Park. The Anfield derby in late April saw Liverpool triumph 3–1, but it wasn't enough to prevent Everton from winning the title within the next couple of weeks. The 1986–87 season was perhaps the last time that Everton overshadowed Liverpool.
In the 1988-89 season, Everton were Liverpool's first opponents in a competitive game after the Hillsborough disaster on 15 April 1989, which resulted in the deaths of 96 Liverpool fans at the FA Cup semi-final. The game between the two sides was a league fixture on 3 May which ended in a goalless draw. On 20 May the two sides met at Wembley for the second all Liverpool FA Cup final in four seasons. The match went into extra time before Liverpool triumphed 3–2, with Ian Rush (twice) and John Aldridge scoring for Liverpool and both of Everton's goals coming from Stuart McCall.
By 1990–91, Everton were no longer generally considering as a leading English playing side (finishing ninth that season having started the season near the foot of the table), while Liverpool finished second in the league, but the campaign still brought one of the most pulsating clashes between the two clubs. Liverpool and Everton were drawn for the FA Cup fifth round at Anfield on 17 February 1991. The match ended in a goalless draw, and the replay three days later ended in a thrilling 4–4 draw at Goodison Park, in which Peter Beardsley scored twice. 1990–91 was Kenny Dalglish's last season as Liverpool manager, as he resigned two days after the 4–4 draw with Everton. It was also the last season of "replays of replays" as penalties after extra time took over as the competition's ultimate tie winner decider for the 1991–92 season. The second replay ended with a 1–0 win for Everton on 27 February, and ended Liverpool's double hopes.
The close season of 1991 saw Peter Beardsley move from Liverpool to Everton, followed within a year by defender Gary Ablett, causing more tension in the Merseyside derby, though the first couple of years after their transfers saw Liverpool and Everton firmly overtaken by Manchester United and the likes of Blackburn Rovers and Arsenal as the biggest challengers in English football. On 7 December 1992, Everton defeated Liverpool 2–1 at Goodison Park in a game where Peter Beardsley became only the second man in history to score for both clubs in the Liverpoolderby.
The 1993–94 derby at Anfield saw Liverpool defeat Everton 2–1, not having much effect for a mid-table Liverpool side but increasing the risk of relegation (a battle which was ultimately won) for Everton. Perhaps the most notable event of this game was the winning goal by Robbie Fowler, who turned 19 the following month and was one of the most promising young players in England at the time.
The next notable Merseyside derby came on 18 October 1997, when Everton triumphed 2–0 at Goodison in a victory that ultimately saved them from relegation (they only stayed up by having a greater goal difference than Bolton Wanderers) and helped end Liverpool's title bid.
The 2000–01 season saw one of the most exciting derbies of the Premier League era. Liverpool having won the first derby at Anfield, completed the double with a thrilling 3–2 victory over Everton at Goodison in April, with the injury-time winner by Gary McAllister proving to be crucial at the end of the season in helping Liverpool qualify for the Champions League for the first time.
By the end of the 2001–02, Liverpool had finished above Everton in the league for 15 seasons in succession, but 2002–03 saw Everton showing signs of eclipsing them for the first time in years. After a brilliant run of form saw Liverpool top the Premier League in October, an 11-match winless league run followed their 2–0 home win over West Ham United in early November and during that barren spell they drew 0–0 at home to an Everton side who were actually above them and looking like qualifying for Europe after several seasons of persistent relegation battles. However, they were on course for their fifth place finish when they next met Everton on 19 April and won 2–1 at Goodison Park, a result which pushed their city neighbours towards seventh place and narrowly deprive them of European football.
In 2004–05, Everton finished fourth in the league and Liverpool came fifth – the first time since Everton's 1987 title win that Liverpool had finished below them. In a season which saw Liverpool win the UEFA Champions League, Everton gave their neighbours a reminder of how far they had progressed under the management of David Moyes with a 1–0 win at Goodison Park on 11 December 2004, though Liverpool won the return match at Anfield 2–1 three months later.
Everton had a setback and finished mid-table in 2005–06, while Liverpool's compensation for their prolonged title wait came in the form of a narrow FA Cup final triumph. And Liverpool triumphed 3–1 in both of the Merseyside derbies that season, giving their neighbours a reminder that they still had some way to go before they could have any real claim to being the stronger of the two Liverpool teams.
In 2006–07, Everton recovered to finish in the top six, while Liverpool finished in the top four, and there was an early season triumph for the blue half of Liverpool as Everton crushed Liverpool 3–0 at Goodison Park in early September. They also held them to a goalless draw at Anfield in early February and helped hold them behind pace setters Manchester United and Chelsea.
Liverpool did the double over Everton in 2007–08, however the meeting at Goodison Park was shrouded in controversy when referee Mark Clattenburg awarded Liverpool a penalty after a coming together between Liverpool's Steven Gerrard and Everton's Tony Hibbert resulted in a penalty for Liverpool and a sending off for Hibbert when most pundits felt a caution would have been sufficient. Everton dominated the game after going behind but were denied what seemed to be two clear penalties in the closing stages of the game when Joleon Lescott was twice wrestled to the ground by Jamie Caragher at Everton corners. The victory helped secure a top four finish and Champions League qualification for Liverpool, leaving Everton to settle for a UEFA Cup place.
In the 2008–09 season, Liverpool and Everton met four times, Liverpool winning the League encounter at Goodison Park 2–0 while drawing the other League fixture that dealt a severe blow to their title ambitions. The FA Cup saw Everton defeat 10-man Liverpool in extra time in the replay thanks to an injury-time winner by Dan Gosling after a 1–1 draw at Anfield. That season both teams were a major force as Liverpool challenged for the title while Everton came close to qualifying for the Champions League while they did progress to the FA Cup final where they were beaten by Chelsea.
When the sides met in the 2009–10 season, both clubs were suffering from a disastrous start to the season. both games followed similar patterns with Everton enjoying the greater possession and creating more chances in the games but it was Liverpool who scored the goals in a 2–0 victory at Goodison Park and 1–0 at Anfield thanks to a goal from Dirk Kuyt.
In the Goodison Park encounter on 17 October 2010 in the 2010–11 season, Everton won 2–0 with goals from Tim Cahill and Mikel Arteta. When the sides met in the return league game at Anfield in January 2011, there were four goals and the final score was 2–2.
In the 2011–12 season, Liverpool and Everton met three times, twice in the league and once in the FA Cup, with Liverpool winning all three. The first meeting took place on 1 October 2011, with Liverpool winning 2-0 in the league at Goodison (goals from Andy Carroll and Luis Suárez) against an Everton side depleted by Jack Rodwell's early, controversial red card, subsequently rescinded by the FA. On 13 March 2012, Liverpool won the Anfield fixture 3-0 after a hat-trick by Steven Gerrard, who became the first player to score a hat-trick in the derby since Ian Rush in 1982. The third meeting of the season was the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium on 14 April. Everton took the lead through Nikica Jelavic's goal in the first half. Liverpool equalised through a Luis Suárez goal mid-way through the second half, and Andy Carroll scored the winning goal for Liverpool in the 87th minute. However, despite Liverpool having success throughout the season against their traditional rivals, Everton finished one place higher than Liverpool at the end of the Premier League season.
This local derby is also unique in the fact that the fixtures are played in a certain order. Since 2003, an agreement has been in place to hold the first derby of every season at Goodison Park, and the second at Anfield. There are several benefits to this arrangement: not only does this prevent long waits between home derbies for either team, but ensures that the flow of television revenue is more even due to the fact that the second derby cannot always be televised on Sky. Reasons for this vary, from cup commitments or late-season fixture congestion.
Read more about this topic: Merseyside Derby, Friendly Derby