In the final moments in a dying ember David always seems to conjure up something magical and if it doesn't mean defeating Goliath then being its equal isn't too bad either. On a Wednesday cold snap evening in Liverpool the league leaders made the 1 mile trip to Goodison Park to face their old rival for the final time at the famous stadium. Everton have been in Liverpool's shadow for the past 35 years and the gap has significantly widened over the last six years. Indeed what Liverpool has achieved in that time Everton can only have dreamt of, a league title, domestic cups and of course winning the Champions League. The real glory days of Everton seem lost in time and well before Sky took the top flight under its wing in 1992. So much has changed and yet we were always reminded of yesteryear by looking at the famous old stadium. After this season that stadium will be gone although the centre circle will remain.
In this final Merseyside derby the gap could not have felt wider. Liverpool look to be heading for their second league title in five years and are well on for a treble. Not only are they clearly the best side in the league but have only lost once so far and arguably possess the best player in the Premier League in Mohamed Salah. He ended the game having now scored 22 goals and assisted in 14. That means from the 58 goals the Reds have scored so far Salah has been on hand for 36 of them. This is a night though that belonged to Everton and their fans. It was an electric atmosphere for a club who entered the game in 16th place and had just been knocked out of the FA Cup at home to Bournemouth. Could it not be argued that if this wasn't a final game that Everton may have lost this one? Beto opened the scoring with clever play and a player that has mostly struggled at the club seems to have found his confidence since David Moyes arrived. Alexis MacAllister felt like the pantomime villain when he equalised for the Reds after an impressive header as he was positioned looking in the opposite direction. From there on in Everton showed determination and grit. This was not a normal Liverpool performance where they usually steam roll teams and despite the points difference the Toffees looked impressive. Almost none of that mattered when with twenty minutes to go Salah who else made it 2-1 and at that moment there was a feeling that Everton were down and out. However more chances were made, some were nervous shots, some were bad decisions and the clock kept ticking. And then fate happened. The goal was not made in beauty, if anything it was a normal Everton set up a looping ball which eventually found James Tarkowski on the right hand side of goal. He smashed the ball home for want of a better word. In that moment after beating one of the world's best goalkeepers in Alisson and kissing the back of the net football fans were reminded of the magic of football. It happens everyday in parks up and down the country. A last second winner, a last second equaliser. This was for 2-2 but it felt like a winner anyway. Apart from the red half of Merseyside who could not have worn a smile after that? Sadly VAR had to intervene. First for a potential offside and then a foul. In the end VAR gave the goal. But perhaps there was a feeling that there could not be a party unless VAR was involved. Goodison then bid farewell to the derby which ended with 3 red cards after Abdoulaye Doucoure goaded the away fans. He was sent off alongside Curtis Jones and even Arne Slot received a red as did his assistant. Absolute chaos, but beautiful chaos highlighting overall how frantic and beautiful the game can be.
The Premier League took a small break for the FA Cup last week and one of the biggest shocks was Plymouth's fantastic 1-0 victory to knock out Liverpool. In truth the Reds have bigger fish to fry and made 10 changes to the team. However with the likes of Diogo Jota and Luis Diaz starting there really was no excuse for the top side in the Premier League not to beat the bottom side of the Championship. The magic of the FA Cup there really is nothing like it. Both Manchester teams got through to the quarter finals. United squeezed past Leicester but City were almost sensationally knocked out as they trailed Leyton Orient by a goal at half time. Eventually the Premier League champions got through winning 2-1. The misery continues for Tottenham who were knocked out by Aston Villa and exited two cup competitions in a matter of days. Chelsea were also knocked out by Brighton and there is a feeling that perhaps this year's winner may end up to be a surprise package.
To win the FA Cup: Manchester City 3.00, Newcastle 5.50, Aston Villa 7.50, Manchester United 10.00, Bournemouth 11.00
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