Liverpool 2-1 Everton: Player Ratings
Liverpool entered the fourth round of the FA Cup after a 2-1 win over bitter rivals Everton. Anfield witnessed thrilling derby action in the cup competition with the tie being settled in the last 10 minutes of the encounter.
Virgil van Dijk, Liverpool's record signing scored the winner for Liverpool and delivered a splendid performance on his debut. James Milner had opened the scoring on the night, before Gylfi Sigurdsson equalized for Everton courtesy of a blistering counter-attacking move.
On that note, let's take a closer look at how each player fared in the hotly contested Merseyside derby:
Everton
Jordan Pickford: 5/10
The Englishman made some decent saves but could have done better for the winner. Pickford decided to leave his line for the corner but was left in no man's land at the end. In short, Pickford did a Mignolet in conceding the second goal.
Jonjoe Kenny: 7/10
The youngster is now looking assured in the Everton lineup and displayed another performance worthy of praise. Kenny joined in the attack whenever possible and also backtracked with responsibility. His interception of a Firmino drag back was extremely crucial to keep Everton in the game at that point.
Mason Holgate: 3/10
Lucky! Holgate was extremely fortunate to complete 90 minutes after his push on Firmino in the second half could have easily been a sending off. He was troubled by the pace of Liverpool's attacks but handled that pretty well before losing it all in the final quarter of the game.
Phil Jagielka: 7/10
A captain's performance from the centre back. He was solid in rallying his troops and took up good positions. Jagielka added another Anfield moment to his collection as it was him, in an unnatural position, on a counter-attacking move, to assist Sigurdsson.
Cuco Martina: 6/10
Martina did his job of closing down his man and keeping the Liverpool runners in check with ease. Barring a 35-yard crazy attempt, it was a decent outing for the fullback.
James McCarthy: 6/10
McCarthy looked like the real deal in the first 45 minutes, showing real authority in the centre of the park. He was a commanding figure for the Toffees and did his job to perfection. But he is lacking match fitness at the moment and looked tired as the game went on.
Morgan Schneiderlin: 6/10
A decent outing for the former Manchester United man. He looks at ease with McCarthy beside him as Allardyce may have found the perfect midfield pairing to work with. His ability to dictate the tempo in certain parts of the game helped Everton to muster credible chances going forward.
Wayne Rooney: 3/10
Sam Allardyce did the best thing possible by taking Rooney off the firing line, six minutes after the interval. The attacker was already on a yellow and looked completely reckless. His passing was average and he never gave away an impression of being a senior player for Everton on the field.
Gylfi Sigurdsson: 7/10
The Icelander had very little opportunity to display his creativity before he got to the end of a stunning counter-attacking move. His finish was brilliant, sliding it past the keeper with ease. Sigurdsson showed great maturity in his defensive work and was one of the best players on the field.
Yannick Bolasie: 8/10
Completing 90 minutes after such a long layoff was a significant achievement from the winger. Along with that, Bolasie looked sharp and provided an incisive edge to the away side. He also played a crucial part in the build-up to the equalizer.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin: 5/10
The youngster lacked any sort of service to trouble the defenders but showed great heart to run for lost causes and being a solid focal point for his side.
Substitutes:
Ademola Lookman: 8/10
An inspired substitution! The youngster came on the field and made a brilliant impact going forward. Lookman played a huge role in Everton's goal and also looked threatening on a number of other occasions.
Oumar Niasse: N/A
The forward had very little time to make a meaningful contribution.
Tom Davies: N/A
Davies was brought on to change the dynamics in midfield but chased the game for the entire duration, and couldn't influence much of it.