Gerrard outshines Barry in holding role
Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard spoke of his desire to produce a “top performance” in his new holding role following a disastrous display in the 2-2 draw with Aston Villa. With Liverpool looking unlikely to bring in any signings in January, Lucas Leiva injured and Joe Allen lacking fitness, Gerrard represents a quick-fix. Gareth Barry, who is a close friend of the England captain, has been rightly lauded for his vital contribution to Everton’s excellent form this season, leaving the Toffees on the cusp of fourth place. But it was Barry who looked like the player deputising in an unfamiliar position as he endured an opening 45 minutes to forget. The Everton dynamo carried out the ugly side effectively (and cynically) before his third foul earned him a deserved caution. But the 32-year-old’s biggest mistake of the opening period was losing Gerrard at a 21st-minute corner, with the Reds skipper launching a thunderous header into the net. In a desperate scramble to catch up with his man, Barry clattered Romelu Lukaku. The Everton striker was carried off on a stretcher moments later with suspected ankle ligament damage. In contrast, Gerrard was at ease in a deeper position as he managed to intercept a couple of loose Everton passes, as well as launching his body in the way of a couple of Ross Barkley pot-shots.
Sterling Coutinho thrives behind SAS
Philippe Coutinho has failed to hit the dazzling heights which he reached following his Liverpool move in 2012-13. The Brazilian, who scored three goals and made five assists last season, suffered an injury in a 2-2 draw with Swansea in late September and the 21-year-old has failed to recapture his electric form. Coutinho had shown signs of improvement in recent weeks, just lacking a cutting edge in front of goal which made him such a threat last season. That was until Tuesday night. The former Inter Milan playmaker popped up in a central role playing behind Daniel Sturridge and Luis Suarez, who were constantly swapping positions. Coutinho’s decision-making was near flawless as his perfectly-weighted pass unleashed Sturridge to score his opening strike. With Everton throwing men forward in a desperate attempt to salvage something from the derby, Coutinho became increasingly influential as the link between Gerrard and Jordan Henderson and SAS. Coutinho should have added a second assist to his stats – or perhaps a goal – had Sturridge put away a 72nd-minute chance or squared to his team-mate before being replaced in the 78th minute.
The night on which Everton’s top-four bid unravels?
Everton trailed fourth-placed Liverpool by a point heading into this derby – and it was difficult to call a favourite prior to kick-off, considering the Toffees were facing a leaky Reds defence. In particular, Lukaku has been in a rich vein of form against the Reds, scoring three goals in three games. Whilst Liverpool’s attacking quartet were brilliant, Everton defence were abnormally edgy and out of sorts as Roberto Martinez fielded a makeshift centre-half pairing of Phil Jagielka and Antolín Alcaraz, with Sylvain Distin injured. It was far from ideal as the Toffees were lining up against a potent Reds side – and Liverpool were at their devastating best as Sturridge and Suarez exposed the centre-half pairing’s lack of game time together. Martinez suffered further bad news as Lukaku, on loan from Chelsea, was replaced after 21 minutes with an ankle injury. If the Belgian suffered ligament damage, it could well spell the end of Everton’s top-four bid. Lukaku’s nine goals and presence up front has been instrumental in helping the Toffees climb the league. It will fall on the shoulders of Lacina Traore to fill Lukaku’s void and erode Liverpool’s four-point lead.