Everton made the last-ever Merseyside derby at Goodison Park one to remember as they snatched a draw in the dying embers of their clash with Liverpool on Wednesday night in the Premier League.
Portuguese centre-forward Beto, called upon in the absence of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, opened the scoring for the Toffees with a terrific run and finish in the first half.
A quick response from Alexis Mac Allister, who provided a deft header, levelled the scores at 1-1 before Mohamed Salah put the visitors 2-1 up.
David Moyes’ side never gave up the fight, however, and eventually secured a point to remember when James Tarkowski hammered in a thumping volley in the 98th minute.
James Tarkowski's heroic performance against Liverpool
The English central defender rescued the result for the Toffees with a sensational strike into the top corner of Alisson’s goal, but his main job throughout the game was to defend his own goal.
Unfortunately, Mac Allister got the better of him for the first Liverpool strike as he timed his run to meet the cross from Salah before the former Burnley star could challenge him to make a clearance.
Tarkowski was also dribbled past once and only won one aerial duel in the 90 minutes, which shows that it was far from a perfect performance from the centre-back from a defensive perspective.
Whilst his slip-ups defensively were not a major issue in the grand scheme of things, as he scored a memorable equaliser, it was his his defensive partner Jarrad Branthwaite who was the real Goodison Park hero because of his sublime defending.
Jarrad Branthwaite's performance against Liverpool
The England international lined up alongside Tarkowski as the left-sided centre-back and if you weren’t sure why he’d previously been labelled with a £100m price tag, Wednesday evening certainly showed why he could be a mega-money player in the making, putting on a defensive clinic with his exceptional work at the back for Moyes’ side.
Performance in Numbers
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There was little that Branthwaite could have done to prevent either of Liverpool’s goals. It was Tarkowski who failed to challenge for the first strike and the left-footed star prevented Curtis Jones from scoring with a brilliant last-ditch block moments before Salah’s strike.
The 22-year-old star also assisted the opening goal for Everton with a terrific quick free-kick that sent Beto through on goal, as he showcased his quality on the ball to go along with his defensive work.
Clearances
16
9
Blocks
2
0
Tackles + interceptions
2
1
Dribbled past
0x
1x
Duel success rate
80%
63%
As you can see in the table above, Branthwaite significantly outperformed Tarkowski from a defensive perspective, as he made almost twice as many clearances and won a much higher percentage of his duels.
The left-footed star dominated the Liverpool attackers with his physicality and made sure that he was in the right place at the right time to make vital clearances and blocks.
Both players had a hand in one of the Everton goals on the night, but it was the former Carlisle man who was the real hero as he was outstanding on and off the ball throughout the night to help his side to a huge result.
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