Jagielka rocket earns Everton draw in clash with rivals Liverpool
Liverpool tied cross-town rivals Everton 1-1 on Saturday afternoon in the Merseyside derby. It was, almost predictably, the veteran Reds captain Steven Gerrard who got the lone goal on a 65th minute free kick, his 10th tally against the Toffees. An extra-time rocket from Phil Jagielka, Everton's own captain, tied it up very late.
Contentious as ever through its loaded history, the game had taken on extra relevance for its contestants' meagre starts to the season. Both teams badly needed a win for the 223rd time they faced off - the record now stands 8 wins to Liverpool, 66 to Everton and 69 draws - if they are to make good on their tall ambitions for the season. Liverpool had started off their Premier League campaign with two wins and three losses after contending for last year's title until the final day. Everton, who only just missed out on a Champions League spot and would quite like to do better, had fared worse, with just one win and two ties to show for their five games. The tie perhaps helped neither of them.
As we have come to expect and demand from this high-octane derby, which has produced one of the world's most contentious rivalries over the last century, the action was constant. By the 10th minute, both teams had had credible shouts for a penalty. Lukaku had been bundled down upon entry into the Liverpool box. Gareth Barry, already on a yellow card by this point, had blocked a high Raheem Sterling blast with his raised arm in his own penalty area.
The first real chance came in the 12th minute, as Everton's American goalkeeper Tim Howard made a fine save off a corner, denying Adam Lallana's header with a low dive to his right.
For most of the game, the teams were well balanced. Everton was probably the more commanding side early on as they controlled the ball and rhythm of the game. Liverpool seized control thereafter, producing a raft of shots. Everton, however, were hardly overrun and saw to it that none of their red-clad rivals' efforts ever put them in real danger of conceding a goal.
So for almost an hour, nobody came close to scoring, even if there was plenty of action in the final thirds. In a tactical game of chess, they tried to catch each other out with balls in behind the back lines and trying to exploit the flanks but the well-organized defenses held strong. All the real and game-altering action then came in one quick flurry.
In the 65th minute, a very active but not entirely effective Mario Balotelli earned a soft-looking free kick at the edge of the box. He and Gerrard argued some over who ought to take out. The captain prevailed and sent a hard, swerving shot into the top right corner. Howard got a hand to it but couldn't slow the ball's pace enough to keep it from bulging the nets.
Almost immediately after they had kicked off though, Everton almost equalized. Muhamed Besic sent a soaring long ball into the path of Romelu Lukaku, putting the Belgian in front of Liverpool goalie Simon Mignolet. The target man missed his header entirely though, nodding only air, and wasting a fat chance.
Just then, Liverpool's zippy forward Raheem Sterling loped up the left wing and sent in a sharp delivery for Balotelli, whose volley from just a few yards out clanged off the bar â possibly with a minor but crucial touch from Howard.
It seemed like it would end that way, until a late Everton offensive culminated in Jagielka's magnificent strike from outside the box when Liverpool were unable to clear a corner.
It has now been 15 years since Everton have won at Anfield, but this tie will feel like something of a win, considering the stakes and the way the game looked to be ending for the longest time. Still, neither team has broken its early-season slump just yet.
