Liverpool 1-1 Everton: Phil Jagielka stunner in injury time cancels out Steven Gerrard free-kick to clinch Merseyside derby draw
For two proud captains, this was the Redemption Derby. Steven Gerrard and Phil Jagielka have each been on the receiving end of unaccustomed criticism this season but neither Brendan Rodgers nor Roberto Martinez could have done without them yesterday.
Gerrard went first in a pulsating derby, pulling rank on Mario Balotelli to take a 65th-minute free-kick and curl it exquisitely past Everton goalkeeper Tim Howard.
Overtaken by the emotion of it all, the 34-year-old midfielder let out a joyous screech of pure adrenalin and cupped his hand to his ear — a response to the abuse Evertonians had given him all afternoon.
It looked as if it would be the latest Gerrard classic winner until Jagielka improbably stepped forward in the second minute of injury time and hit a 25-yard screamer that would still be travelling if the net had not stopped it.
‘I have never seen a better strike live,’ said Everton boss Martinez. ‘It was incredible, though it probably it helps it was in the last minute, at Anfield and for my team.’
There was something poignant about both players hauling their team-mates up by their bootstraps for the biggest game of the season for supporters. Gerrard has suffered a slow start to the season and found it difficult to recover from the twin blows of making a mistake that cost Liverpool the Premier League title last season and then captaining England to their World Cup failure in Brazil.
No wonder he enjoyed his brilliant set-piece goal.
‘I’ll agree with the constructive criticism and I’ve been stifled in a couple of games when people have followed me around and I haven’t been able to shake them off,’ he said.
‘But then people take it too far and say that “He’s 34 and he can’t run and he’s finished”. I can still compete with the best players around.’
After seeing Balotelli miss with a series of free-kicks in the first half, he had no hesitation in grabbing the ball when the Italian had been fouled by Leighton Baines. ‘You get a feeling for free-kicks in certain areas of the pitch and I fancied it,’ he said. Rodgers was a bit more forthright. ‘I was screaming for Steven to take it because I know his quality in those situations. But he is so selfless he sometimes wants others to have an opportunity.’
The Liverpool boss was adamant that Gerrard’s goal should have been the winner and in terms of possession and chances he was unquestionably right. Everton could have seen Gareth Barry sent off early for a series of indiscretions, starting with a first-minute foul on Adam Lallana and were relieved when Balotelli hit the crossbar from four yards out following Raheem Sterling’s cross.
But the visitors showed tremendous character to pour bodies forward in the closing stages. Just after the stadium announcer told 45,000 fans there would be three minutes of added time, Aiden McGeady whipped a cross into a crowded penalty area. Dejan Lovren got good distance with his clearing header but Jagielka returned it with interest with a strike that hit Liverpool goalkeeper Simon Mignolet’s top-left hand corner like a bullet.
It was the 32-year-old defender’s seventh Premier League goal in seven years at Everton and, like Gerrard’s, followed plenty of recent criticism for his displays at the World Cup and his club shipping goals. Martinez said: ‘There has been talk of a World Cup hangover and I think that has been really unfair. He has set high standards and cares like nobody else.
‘It would have been easy for him as a centre-half to stay in his position while we’re chasing the game. But he came forward because of his belief and sense of responsibility he has. He showed the way to face adversity. Nobody deserved to score more than him.’
Given the form of both teams going into the 223rd Merseyside derby, a goal glut was widely predicted.
Everton had conceded 17 goals in seven games and Liverpool had been beaten in three of their five Premier League outings.
The opening was as ferocious as in any previous derby.
Barry was booked for his early go at Lallana and could have been sent off either for handling Sterling’s shot inside the area or clipping Balotelli, both inside the first 11 minutes.
Neither was given by referee Martin Atkinson, who also waved away Everton appeals for a penalty when Alberto Moreno shoved Romelu Lukaku.
Everton were lucky to reach half-time on terms, with Howard making excellent stops to deny Balotelli and Lallana.
