- Everton suffered a gut-wrenching 2-1 defeat against bitter rivals Liverpool.
- The loss was a blow in the Toffees’ race to secure European football.
- Hoping not to repeat what followed heartbreaking Derby loss in December 2018.
Everton’s charge for European qualification took a huge blow following their defeat against Liverpool at Hill Dickinson Stadium.
In a match that had the potential to be a catalyst for the Toffees, the manner of their late loss could derail the final few matches of the Premier League season.
The Blues have had several horrendous losses when playing the Reds, and there have been examples of them bouncing back in ideal fashion after them.
Yet they will hope to repeat the results they put down following the infamous 1-0 loss at Anfield in December 2018…
Everton won three out of 10 Premier League games following Divock Origi’s late winner
Marco Silva’s Everton went into the Anfield Derby of 2018-19 as unbeaten in November, and had crafted a streak of four wins at home.
But after conceding late on at the hands of Divock Origi, they would only go on to win three of their next ten games, including a humiliating 6-2 defeat against Tottenham Hotspur at Goodison Park.
In a season where the Premier League table has an eight-point gap between sixth and 14th, with just five games to go, wins will be a valuable currency, and even draws could be costly.
If Everton do go on to repeat the form they showed in the matches that followed Origi’s famous goal, then they will likely not be playing in a European competition next season.
Moyes has proven his ability to reinvigorate Everton
While Virgil van Dijk’s winning header will hurt for some time to come, it is essential that the Blues just view this as bad luck and know that they deserve to compete in Europe.
One of Everton’s worst Merseyside Derby losses in the modern era was their 2-1 defeat against the Reds in the 2012 FA Cup semi finals.
This was another game where they handed a victory to Liverpool on a silver plate, and they were dealt a tough hand to bounce back from this with a visit to Old Trafford.
In that season, Manchester United were pushing for the Premier League title and were in a tight race with rivals Manchester City.
Everton opened the scoring but eventually went 4-2 down in the match, yet in the final ten minutes they pulled off a miraculous turnaround and recorded a famous 4-4 draw.
After such a gutting semi final loss, the Toffees did not halt their momentum, and in fact finished the remainder of the season undefeated.
Moyes will hope his current team shows the same resilience and secures Everton’s awaited return to European football.
