Everton and Liverpool played out an entertaining Merseyside derby that somehow remained goalless for the duration of the game. Some players were fantastic, others less so. Time to rate the players.
Everton
Jordan Pickford. Man of the match after a string of phenomenal saves. The save to keep out Darwin Nunez in the first half was brilliant, then the three saves in three minutes when Liverpool were at their most dominant at the beginning of the second half, before topping it off to deny Mohamed Salah a late winner with a superb tip on to the post. (10)
Nathan Patterson. Struggled at first against Luis Diaz, but got to grips with the Colombian as the game wore on and his only run on the overlap almost resulted in a goal. (7)
Conor Coady. Only the smallest of margins denied him scoring the winner, which would have been just reward for an excellent display in the heart of defence. (8)
James Tarkowski. Complements Coady perfectly, though had some moments where Nunez got the better of him. (6)
Vitalii Mykolenko. Dug in against Salah, with the Egyptian only getting the better of him in last quarter of the game. Winning himself a place in Evertonian hearts with his committed displays. (6)
Tom Davies. Provided the hustle and energy that the Toffees required to start the game and then almost opened the scoring with his shot against the woodwork. Faded at the beginning of the second half, at which point he was subbed. (6)
Amadou Onana. His impressive start to life in the Premier League continued here. The Belgian made a positive run into the box as early as the third minute, but then settled into midfield with combative tackles, pressing and some lovely displays of skill every now and then. Another player who is bound to be a crowd favourite at Goodison. (7)
Alex Iwobi. The reinvention as a deep midfielder continues for Iwobi as he put in another committed display. (6)
Demarai Gray. Troubled Kostas Tsimikas in the first half before he was the architect of a brilliant counter in the second half that really should have seen Everton score. Allied his pace with poise in possession and always made the right decision. (7)
Anthony Gordon. Seems to have been spurred on by his rumoured price tag to take his game to the next level. The technical excellence is evident in Gordon’s game, but his leadership skills and ability to propel his team forward were most impressive against the Reds. (7)
Neal Maupay. Finally brought the presence that was sorely missing in Everton’s attack this season. Maupay was the focal point around whom others could play in the box. A positive debut, but he really should have scored with the excellent chance Gray set up for him. (6)
Idrissa Gueye. Came on for his return in the last half an hour and looked like he never left as he organized his teammates immediately, interrupting Liverpool’s brief period of dominance. (7)
Dwight McNeil. Enterprising late cameo with some dangerous runs and almost scored the winner with a deflected shot. (6)
Liverpool
Alisson. Unflappable and remained cool as his defenders looked lost. His presence in standing up to Maupay’s chance was crucial and the backpedaling save off McNeil’s deflected shot was Alisson at his best. (9)
Trent Alexander-Arnold. Created danger out of nothing with some outstanding crosses when Liverpool had no foothold in the first half, and was then bizarrely subbed off for the second successive game. (6)
Joe Gomez. Was all the sea in the first half, but redeemed himself somewhat in the second half with some crucial interceptions. Whether he should start ahead of Joel Matip or Ibrahima Konate when fully fit remains to be seen. (6)
Virgil van Dijk. Made a crucial block to deny Patterson getting a shot on target, but the uncharacteristic errors to start the season were on display again at Goodison. He could also easily have been sent off for his tackle on Onana. (5)
Kostas Tsimikas. Had more of a defensive remit in the first half as he wasn’t allowed to overlap. Was then subbed just as he was getting more involved in the game. (5)
Harvey Elliott. Neat and tidy in possession, barely misplacing a pass, but ultimately not as penetrative as he been in recent games. (6)
Fabinho. His experience was handy in keeping the Reds together in the first half. Seemed to be the only midfielder in the visitors side who had some understanding of positioning and possession as the rest of his teammates were all over the place. (8)
Fabio Carvalho. The exciting young player was barely involved in any play as he struggled in a deeper midfield role than he is accustomed to, before a tackle by Onana affected his mobility, ending his game at half time. (5)
Mohamed Salah. A peripheral figure for most of the game as his teammates just couldn’t find him on a consistent basis. When he got more involved in the last quarter of the match, Liverpool looked substantially more dangerous. Of all the problems Jurgen Klopp is currently dealing with, ensuring Salah’s greater involvement in attack has to be the foremost priority. (6)
Luis Diaz. A tireless performance by the Colombian winger, who was unfortunate to hit the inside of the post with another right-footed curler. As well as he played, he just couldn’t get the better of Patterson on the day. (6)
Darwin Nunez. Almost scored a wonder goal when he created a chance out of nothing in the first half. Showcased his strengths well, even though the feeling persists that his teammates are still learning to play with him. (6)
Roberto Firmino. Immediately brought life to Liverpool’s attack when he came on for the start of the second half as his intelligent movement created spaces for his teammates that just weren’t there in the first half. Would have capped his impressive performance with a goal or two but for Pickford’s heroics. (8)
Andy Robertson. Came on for Tsimikas and looked galvanized with his most energetic performance in quite some time. Took some great set pieces and drove Liverpool forward whenever he had the ball. (7)
James Milner. A truly disastrous half an hour from the veteran. It was Milner being too slow in the tackle that started Gray’s excellent counter. It was Milner who was beaten by Maupay easily for the marginal offside goal. There were also other cheap concessions of possession in dangerous areas, further extending Milner’s poor start to the season. (3)
Diogo Jota. Brief albeit promising cameo from the Portuguese, whose verticality has been sorely missed by the Reds. Klopp will hope that his forward’s fitness and confidence issues are behind him because Liverpool certainly need a fit and firing Jota to help them get their season moving. (6)
The Through Ball by Wasim Parkar 