Liverpool star's incredible display highlighted in Merseyside derby as he completes 26 passes more than the entire Everton team
Liverpool’s domination in the Merseyside derby against Everton was highlighted by a stat that the Evertonians will not want to see.
The Reds dominated possession as their star midfielder Thiago Alcantara once again ran the show.
The Spaniard was at his supreme best in the 4-0 win against Manchester United last week. He kept up his impressive circulation of the ball in the middle of the park against Everton.
Everton midfielder Allan played 73 minutes against Liverpool.
He completed two passes - both via kick-offs.
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Thiago completed 120 passes, the most among the Liverpool team at Anfield as they rarely gave the ball away.
Everton overall completed just 94 passes, 26 fewer than what Thiago mustered in the game. The stats were perhaps a damning verdict of where the Toffees are as a team at the moment.
Thiago’s midfield counterpart Allan had a pretty bad afternoon as he completed just two passes, and both were from the kick-off.
The Brazilian’s game was predominately about offering the back four the protection. However, just two completed passes showed the gulf in quality that existed between the two sides on Sunday.
Frank Lampard’s plan of disruption worked well until a point against Liverpool
Giving up possession and playing a low block was perhaps the best way for Everton to stop Liverpool.
The Toffees were aggressive at Anfield as they tackled with ferocity and tried to break forward to take advantage of the meager opportunities they had.
However, defending for the entire 90 minutes needs a lot of focus, and the Merseyside outfit could not prevail in that aspect.
Passes completed during Liverpool's 2-0 win over Everton:
📊 Passes completed during Liverpool's 2-0 win over Everton:
• 120 - Thiago Alcantara
• 94 - Everton
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Jurgen Klopp's side eventually broke the deadlock following some neat play by Divock Origi that allowed Mohamed Salah to find Andy Robertson in the box.
Everton’s deep defending forced the Liverpool full-backs to play high up the pitch, and Robertson was inside the penalty box to head home from close range.
Origi made the points safe himself with a customary goal in the 85th minute of the game as the Reds remained a point behind league leaders Manchester City.
Everton, on the other hand, are two points adrift of safety in 18th place. They have a big few weeks coming up as they look to survive the drop.