Under Jürgen Klopp, Liverpool has an incredible record against Everton, and Jordan Pickford will surely remember a few derbies he would want to forget.
With his ninth Premier League victory over Everton at Anfield in October, Liverpool manager Jürgen Klopp created history in the Merseyside rivalry. In his 18 games versus the Toffees, Klopp has only lost once, and that was in a private match. No manager has ever won more.
Despite Everton frequently being near the bottom of the table in recent years, Klopp should be pleased of his accomplishments since it is quite an amazing feat. During the Klopp era, there have also been two FA Cup victory over the Toffees. In 2020, a very inexperienced starting lineup famously defeated Carlo Ancelotti’s team in the third round thanks to a marvel goal from Curtis Jones.
Two years prior, at the same period, Virgil van Dijk made his debut for the Merseyside rivals after moving from Southampton for $95 million (£75 million/€88 million). And late on, the Dutchman came forward to head in the winner after Gylfi Sigurðsson had cancelled out James Milner’s opening.
He did so by leaping in front of Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford, and video of Liverpool players Jones and Cody Gakpo reminiscing about the historic game has since surfaced on social media. Furthermore, neither has anything positive to say about England’s No. 1.
“What is the goalie doing, mate?” a laughing Gakpo asks his Anfield colleague in a video posted by The Anfield Wrap. while he rewinds the goal. And after praising Van Dijk profusely, Jones adds to the agony, asking, “What is he doing? How is he acting?”
A few months after Pickford’s error, he scored a goal that is now legendary in Derby history with an absolute howler. After failing to break through an implacable Everton defence, Van Dijk appeared to have squandered Liverpool’s final chance in additional time when his mishandled effort hung in the air.
Pickford attempted to catch the ball, unsure if it was going over, but it bounced off the bar and landed on Divock Origi’s head. Wild scenes broke out at Anfield when the Belgian striker invited Klopp to participate in the festivities by running onto the pitch.
This weekend, Liverpool will take on Norwich in the FA Cup in the hopes of extending their winning streak to the fifth round, with the Championship team standing in their way. Everton, on the other hand, is still having trouble in the Premier League after losing points for breaking FFP regulations. They are currently ranked 17th.
