The football match between Liverpool vs Everton is popularly known as the Merseyside derby. This is one of the top-flight derbies in England, and it has been going on for a really long time.
These two rivals first met against each other on the field on 13 October 1894. After that, the derby continued all through the season of 1962-63. One of the main reasons behind the rivalry is because of the close proximity of the hometown of both clubs.
Overview of the teams
Liverpool is known to play their home matches at Anfield, and Everton plays their matches at Goodison Park. Initially, the Merseyside derby was known as the “friendly derby.” this was mainly because both the teams had a lot of families that had both Everton Liverpool and supporters.
This is one of the reasons why there is not a total fan segregation. The Football League Cup final of 1984 at Wembley was named the “friendly final” as almost all the sections of the football ground were mixed with supporters of both teams. Moreover, they came together, and the whole stadium chanted “Merseyside.”
The same thing happened in the FA Cup Final in 1986. It has been since the mid-1980s that this rivalry has intensified in the field. Their match has seen more red cards than any other football match since the beginning of the Premier League.
The Friendly Derby
There are various reasons why the name “friendly derby” came to be in the first place. The obvious reason is the proximity between the cities. It was just Stanley Park that separated the both cities.
From 1902 to 1932, both clubs shared the same match day. However, there are no evident political, social, or geographical divides like there are in other derbies. But the secretarial divide was there for many years within the city.
Liverpool vs Everton derbies are not like the other ones. Violence between the two teams is a rare scenario. During the Heysel Stadium disaster fallout, the relationship between the fans was stained.
The actions of the hooligans supporting the Liverpool team got both Everton and Liverpool banned from the European club competition, even though Everton did not have any part in it. Their relationship got better after fans from both teams rallied together after the disaster in Hillsborough.
Tribute To Rhys Jones
Evertonians joined in even though there was a boycott of The Sun. The fans intertwined the Liverpool and Everton scarves and stretched them across Stanley Park. After Rhys Jones, the 11-year-old Evertonian, was murdered in 2007, Liverpool brought his older brother and his parents to a match in the Champions League in Anfield as a tribute.
The theme tune of Z-cars, to which Everton players generally run out, was played at Anfield for the first time while his family stood on the pitch with Everton scarves wearing their shirts. They gave a standing ovation while “You Will Never Walk Alone” played in the background.
The Liverpool fans were vindicated in the matter of the Hillsborough disaster that happened in August 2012. At Goodison Park, Everton hosted Newcastle United, and two children led the sides wearing Liverpool and Everton shirts along with the numbers 9 and 6 at their backs.
One of the announcers read out the names of all the 96 Hillsborough victims while the song ‘He Ain’t Heavy, He’s My Brother‘ played in the background.
Historical Results/General Statistics
Let’s have an overview of the general statistics of the matches between Liverpool vs Everton.
| Competition | Played | Matches Liverpool Won | Matches Everton Won | Draws | Everton Goals | Liverpool Goals |
| Football League (First Division) | 146 | 54 | 48 | 44 | 181 | 203 |
| Premier League | 63 | 28 | 10 | 25 | 53 | 89 |
| FA Cup | 25 | 12 | 10 | 6 | 28 | 40 |
| EFL Cup/Football League | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 |
| Community Shield/FA Charity | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Football League Super Cup | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 7 |
| Total | 243 | 99 | 67 | 77 | 267 | 343 |
Remarkable Moments
Back in the 2021-2022 season, goals by Mohamed Salah, Diogo Jota, and Jordan Henderson set a record by scoring 4-1 against Everton in the Premier League.
However, this was the club’s biggest winning margin after they won by 5-0 in 1982, and Liverpool became the first team in the history of the English top flight to score two goals in 18 consecutive games in all competitions. Moreover, this took Liverpool up and ahead of Everton in terms of total number of wins.
At Anfield, for the reverse fixture in April, Liverpool won by 2-0, and Divock Origi and Andrew Robertson scored the goals against Liverpool, and this was Origi’s sixth goal against Everton. However, after the 2016-2017 season, this was the first time Liverpool doubled against their rival team.
The next season, again, there was a draw with a score of 0-0 in the fixture. Conor Coady, a supporter of Liverpool, scored what looked like a winning goal, but the VAR ruled it out. However, the reverse fixture had one of the Everton sides coming for a win against Arsenal, the league leaders. Liverpool won by 2-0, and Cody Gakpo and Salah secured the goals.
Wrapping up!
Any match between Liverpool vs Everton was nerve-wracking, and the 2021-2022 season kept their fans on the edge. Liverpool won against Everton with a score of 4-1 in the Premier League. This was their biggest winning margin after the 1982 win, with a score of 5-0.
However, this victory took Liverpool ahead in the total number of wins they have against Everton in their home stadium. At Anfield during the reverse fixture in April, Liverpool took the win with a score of 2-0. Divock Origi and Andrew Robertson scored the goals against the team.
After the 2016-17 season, this was the first time Liverpool did a double over their rivals. But the next season was a draw where both the teams could not score. Conor Coady scored, and it looked like a win, but VAR ruled it out. In another reverse fixture, Everton won against Arsenal, the league leaders. They won with 2 goals, and Arsenal failed to secure a single one.
Well, there is a lot to know about the rivalry that has been going on for years, and there is always something more to know about it.
