A controversial Merseyside derby ended in truimph for 10-man Liverpool after Dirk Kuyt's 50th goal for the club gave his side a third Premier League double over Everton in five seasons.
Liverpool were forced to play for almost an hour a man short after Sotirios Kyrgiakos was red carded for a first-half challenge on Marouane Fellaini.
But Steven Pienaar became the 18th player to be sent off in the last 24 meetings between these two sides when he was shown his second yellow card deep in stoppage time.
By then Liverpool had the points in the bag, Kuyt's 55th minute header sealing the victory that moves his side ahead of Tottenham into fourth spot.
REACTION:
David Moyes insisted Everton did not deserve to lose as both managers played down the controversy which surrounded the 213th Merseyside derby.
The teams finished the game with 10 men apiece - Moyes insisting Kyrgiakos and Pienaar both deserved to be red-carded.
But the Goodison manager said Everton did enough to stretch their unbeaten Premier League run to 10 games.
Instead they entertain Chelsea on Wednesday looking to avoid back-to-back defeats after Kuyt's winner cemented Liverpool's fifth straight home league win.
"There have been a lot of derbies quite similar to what we have seen today," said Moyes. "Merseyside derbies are not run of the mill games, sometimes there is a bit extra and I think we saw that.
"What did I think about Kyrgiakos's red card? It was a two-footed tackle, both feet were off the ground. Fellaini's gone to have an x-ray.
"I didn't see the incident surrounding Pienaar's sending off at the time. I've seen it since on the tape and he can't have much argument about it.
"We certainly didn't deserve to lose. We might not have done enough to win it but we didn't deserve to lose it.
Rafael Benitez praised his side's battling qualities after cementing three points despite being forced to play with 10 men for almost an hour.
But the Liverpool manager, like his counterpart, refused to get embroiled in any controversy afterwards.
"I think there were too many tackles to analyse and I prefer not to comment on the referee," said Benitez. "You can talk about 20 different tackles and have different opinions.
"To keep everyone calm in a derby is almost impossible. Sometimes it's difficult to play with your heads and your hearts."
Benitez believes his side can kick-on after labelling Liverpool's victory a "massive" result.
"It's always important to win a derby, but to win a derby with 10 players at Anfield is even more important," added Benitez.
"We did well from the very start and my players worked so hard. It's a credit to us that Everton didn't put us under much pressure in the second half because we played so well.
"Hopefully we can now stay in and around fourth spot. There's still a lot of games to go and it's a long race."
HOW IT HAPPENED:
They might be neighbours but there is no love lost between these two rivals. The Merseyside derby has produced a flurry of red cards in recent seasons and this was no different. With so much at stake for both clubs, it was always going to be a spicy affair. Liverpool are determined to appease their fans after a disappointing season by securing a Champions League spot. And after a poor start to an injury-ravaged season, Everton have not given up hope of gatecrashing next season's Europa League. There should have been three red cards in the opening 45 minutes alone - Fellaini and Pienaar fortunate to escape while Kyrgiakos can have few complaints about his dismissal. Yet it was Liverpool who looked more hungry than their opponents after going a man down, Kuyt's goal reward for the hard work they displayed in the second half.
WHAT IT MEANS:
While this win will strengthen Liverpool's claims that they can finish fourth, Everton cannot afford to dwell on this. Quite frankly, they were disappointing. Having arrived at Anfield on the back of a nine-match unbeaten league run, they failed to hurt their neighbours after being handed an extra man advantage with around an hour to play. Too many players performed below standard and they can have few complaints about the outcome.
QUOTABLE:
"He has scored a few goals now against Everton and he can be a hero."
- Rafa Benitez praises Kuyt after his goal settled a bad-tempered Merseyside derby.
LIVERPOOL 1 (Kuyt 55) EVERTON 0
PLAYER MARKING:
Liverpool (4-2-3-1): Riena 7; Carragher 7, Kyrgiakos 5, Agger 6, Insua 6; Lucas 6, Mascherano 7; Kuyt 8 (Skrtel 90, 3) Gerrard 7, Rodriguez 7 (Aurelio 90, 4); Ngog 6 (Babel 62, 6).
Subs (not used): Cavalieri, Aquilani, Riera, Degen.
Everton (4-4-1-1): Howard 6; Neville 5, Heitinga 7, Distin 6, Baines 6; Osman 6 (Yakubu 71, 4), Donovan 6, Fellaini 5 (Arteta 39, 5), Pienaar 6; Cahill 5; Saha 5 (Anichebe 71, 4).
Subs (not used): Nash, Bilyaletdinov, Senderos, Coleman.
ATTENDANCE: 44,316
NEXT UP:
- Liverpool v Arsenal (Away), Premier League Wednesday (10/02), 1945 GMT
- Everton v Chelsea (Home), Premier League Wednesday (10/02), 2000 GMT
MAN OF THE MATCH:
Dirk Kuyt (Liverpool): He has not been in great form lately but the flying Dutchman came good when it mattered and when his team needed him most. Down to 10 men following Kyrgiakos's red card, Kuyt struck against Everton for the second time this season to cap a hard-working performance which summed up his team's efforts.
Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Love it !!!!!! beating the bluenose s**** :)