The Merseyside derby was surprisingly quiet for the duration of the game, so much so that Jurgen Klopp shouted for the crowd to get behind his men
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WHAT on earth was Jordan Pickford thinking about?
This will haunt the England No 1 for weeks, months, maybe years.
He quite literally handed Liverpool the Merseyside derby spoils with an inexplicable gaffe in the sixth and final minute of injury time at Anfield.
It prompted extraordinary scenes as Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp ran on to the pitch and hugged his own keeper Alisson.
The crazy ending started when Virgil van Dijk hooked a miscued shot up into the air, prompting groans from the Kop — but not for long.
The ball was coming down on to the backside of the bar and would have gone out of play.
Goal kick. Game over, a well-earned point for Everton.
But Pickford had other ideas as he jumped up and clawed at the ball that then went sideways, bounced off the bar and back into play.
Credit to substitute Divock Origi, who had not given up on something extraordinary happening, and he was there to head the ball in from close range.
Origi? Remember him?
He was bought in 2014 from Lille for £10million and immediately got loaned back to the French club.
The striker was loaned out again last season, this time to Wolfsburg.
Origi had played just 11 minutes this season for Liverpool, in a 2-0 defeat away to Red Star Belgrade — and then this.
He had last played at Anfield in May 2017. But he loves a Merseyside derby. This was his third goal in one.
So on Liverpool go.
They are enjoying their best start to a Premier League season, displaying this sort of spirit to never give up on anything.
They need it as well because, despite 11 wins and three draws from their opening 14 games, they are still two points behind Manchester City.
For the couched potato enjoying the Sunday feast of football, it was going to take something special for the Merseyside derby to eclipse the North London one.
Arsenal’s 4-2 win over Tottenham was thrilling but Liverpool and Everton had a good go at matching it.
Indeed, there were enough good chances for the pair of them to have shared four goals by the break.
The first of those came after just four minutes when Everton were awarded a free-kick wide on the left. Lucas Digne delivered it and Yerry Mina was allowed a free header that he planted wide.
A slight shove from Trent Alexander-Arnold might have put him off but the look of horror on Mina’s face still exposed how he felt inside at spurning such an opportunity.
Likewise Sadio Mane on 12 minutes when Mo Salah hooked a ball through to leave him one on one.
Cool heads are needed in these situations in a derby and Mane did not have one as he blazed a shot over the bar.
Everton were playing with no fear as they targeted a first Anfield win since 1999.
What a chance they had to take the lead on 21 minutes, too.
Bernard’s left-wing cross was headed back across the six-yard box by Theo Walcott and Andre Gomes dived in with a point-blank header.
Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson flung himself across his goal-line, making himself big, and he somehow managed to block the effort.
The ball rebounded back off Gomes and was crawling over the line until Reds centre-half Joe Gomez slid in and hooked it away.
It was the goalkeeper at the opposite end getting the plaudits on 34 minutes with a great stop of his own. Salah had supplied the through-ball again, this time for Xherdan Shaqiri, who looked awkward as he tried to get the shot off on his favourite left foot.
But the angles were wrong, he went with his right and the leaping Pickford blocked the effort with his left knee.
It was thrilling stuff and it continued after the break.
Salah, on his 50th Premier League appearance, had a quiet first half on his own up front in a 4-2-3-1 system.
His goalkeeper Alisson had more touches than him in that period.
