The Merseyside derby is one of English football’s most unique rivalries.
Anecdotes of split allegiances between families are commonplace throughout the city, and to date Everton and Liverpool have faced each other 244 times in competitive fixtures.
Perhaps no derby in recent memory will be as historically significant as Wednesday’s clash at Goodison Park.
With both clubs crashing out of the FA Cup at the weekend, the Premier League tie between the two will be the final Merseyside derby held at Goodison.
With that in mind, let’s revisit five memorable derbies held at the historic ground.
Everton 0-0 Liverpool, Division One, 3rd May 1989.
The eighties had been a time of great success for both Everton and Liverpool but the decade was to end in tragedy for Merseyside.
Liverpool’s first game, eighteen days after that tragic sunny afternoon in South Yorkshire and the crush that claimed the lives of 97 Liverpool fans, the two sides came together as one.
The final score here was almost fitting, the result and the game itself were secondary to the occasion.
Fans from both sides stood together on the terraces, not uncommon during those days but this time with added poignancy and significance.
Chants of “Merseyside, Merseyside” echoed around Goodison at halftime, and a spontaneous rendition of ‘You’ll Never Walk Alone’ was sung by both sets of supporters.
Everton fans displayed banners of condolence while Liverpool fans held banners thanking their neighbours for their support.
Hillsborough wasn’t just a Liverpool FC tragedy; it touched the lives of people throughout the city regardless of football persuasion.
Everton 4-4 Liverpool, FA Cup Fifth Round Replay, 20th February 1991
After a goalless draw at Anfield, Kenny Dalglish took his Liverpool side across Stanley Park three days later for a replay at Goodison.
What followed was one of the most frantic games in the history of the derby.
Liverpool took the lead on four separate occasions but the Toffees pegged them level each time.
3-3 after 90 minutes, John Barnes thought he’d won it for Liverpool in extra time, curling a beautiful effort from the edge of the 18-yard box into the top corner past a helpless Neville Southall.
But six minutes from the end of extra time, Everton’s Tony Cottee bagged his second of the game to make it 4-4 and ensure a third game between the sides would take place to determine the winner.
Everton would go onto win that game 1-0 but Dalglish wasn’t there to see it, he resigned following the breathtaking draw at Goodison.
His departure cemented the end of an era for Liverpool, reigning Division One champions at the time of this fixture, they wouldn’t win the league again until 2020.
Everton 2-3 Liverpool, Premier League, 16th April 2001.
Liverpool arrived at Goodison for this Easter Monday clash having already completed one third of a unique cup-treble, which would see them go on to add the FA Cup and the UEFA Cup to their League Cup success in February.
Everton on the other hand were languishing in the lower reaches of the league table.
They put up a spirited fight against Gerard Houllier’s side, twice battling back from behind in a match that featured 12 bookings, a red card for Reds defender Igor Biscan and a missed penalty from Liverpool icon, and boyhood Blue, Robbie Fowler.
The game looked to be a draw until Liverpool midfielder Gary McAlister, with the last kick of the game, curled an almost impossible free kick past Toffees keeper Paul Gerrard from 40 yards out.
Everton 1-0 Liverpool, FA Cup 4th Round Replay, February 4th 2009.
A game remembered for a goal that millions of viewers missed.
Both sides failed to break the deadlock in 90 minutes, with the game heading for a first ever Merseyside derby shootout.
Everton’s teenage midfielder Dan Gosling came to the rescue with a finely placed right footed shot past Liverpool’s Pepe Reina to send Goodison Park into pandemonium.
The problem was that ITV had cut to a scheduled commercial break just seconds before the ball left Gosling’s boot in the 128th minute.
Millions of bemused viewers at home were greeted by joyful Evertonian scenes once the live broadcast returned- quite the blooper.
Everton 2-0 Liverpool, Premier League, April 24th 2024.
This was Jurgen Klopp’s final Merseyside derby having announced his intention to leave Liverpool earlier in the year.
The German coach had never lost a derby away to Goodison, but as his final season came crashing down around him, so too did that record.
After League Cup success, Liverpool had been aiming for an unprecedented ‘quadruple’ but defeats in the FA Cup and Europa League meant only the Premier League was left.
Goals in each half from Jarrad Branthwaite and Dominic Calvert-Lewin killed Liverpool’s title dream and gave Everton a first Goodison derby win for fourteen years as chants of “You lost the league at Goodison Park” echoed around the famous ground.
