Irish fans were probably less enthused about witnessing this one as Seamus Coleman was declared unfit to play due to his ongoing injury woes. But for those who could carry on, they were treated to a gritty affair that lost momentum in patches with a few tepid fracas throughout.
After a dominant first quarter of play,it looked like Liverpool would prosper from this Merseyside derby, but a flurry of goal scoring action brought proceedings to an intriguing intermission with Danny Ings scoring for Liverpool followed by an equalizer from Lakaku on the stroke of half-time. It took just four minutes for Brendan Rodgers's side to instigate an attack with Sturridge and Milner combining to make Tim Howard's heart flutter for a second with a quick jolt off the line to avert the danger.
Danny Ings brought a real attacking force to Liverpool's game and imposed himself repeatedly on the action over the first 20 minutes. Sturridge was in a prime position to unleash a low strike outside the Everton box on 40 minutes but failure to see him in an unmarked situation meant the ball deflected out for a corner. Sturridge was rightfully frustrated but up popped Danny Ings with a stunning, and unopposed connection, to head the ball past the outstretched arms of Howard.
But just when it looked like Liverpool would go on to clinch the win, Everton countered with an unexpected goal moments later. Again, poor marking was at the centre of the attack which allowed Romelu Lukaku to pounce on a poor clearance and tee the ball up off his toe before unleashing a penetrative volley.
The second half was measurably less engaging than the first act and when Liverpool's James Milner header dribbled miserably off his crown, the energy from the previous phases looked to have disappeared. There were a few mildly heated moments with Brendan Rodgers making the intelligent decision to withdraw Lucas in the 78th minute after he was lucky not to receive a second yellow card after tripping up McCarthy.
But with 10 minutes to go, both sides rediscovered their fervour. Sturridge thought he had threaded the Everton cover but a finely timed slide negated the danger while at the other end, Lakaku was close to ending his day with two goals when he found himself in possession yards from the goal line. Indecision however meant he took too much out of it and the ball was booted out to the echoes of the final whistle.
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