Everton rescued a draw against Liverpool in the dying seconds of the final Merseyside Derby at Goodison Park.
The Toffees gave a decent performance on the night, and were unlucky when Liverpool came from behind after an early goal by Beto.
A clever free-kick by Jarrad Branthwaite put the striker in on goal, and he finished smartly past Alisson into the far corner.
But Everton let their lead slip just minutes later.
Abdoulaye Doucoure turned the ball over in an attempt to break away, with a cross coming in from the right side which was headed in by Alexis Mac Allister.
Everton then lost Iliman Ndiaye to what looked like a bad injury, and that allowed Liverpool to start getting a foothold.
Everton started the second-half really well and knocked on the door, with Beto lively and Doucoure also having a couple of efforts.
But Liverpool scored against the run of play, with Mo Salah capitalising on some poor defending.
It looked as though Everton were down and out with the game going into injury-time. But James Tarkowski popped up with a stunning equaliser right at the death, which was confirmed after a lengthy VAR check.
Rio Ferdinand and Ally McCoist impressed by Jarrad Branthwaite as Everton snatch draw
Everton were always going to have to be strong defensively to beat Liverpool.
Unfortunately, there were a couple of moments where Everton were poor and the Reds punished the hosts.
Thankfully though, Tarkowski was in the right place at the right time to lash home at the end. Those scenes will certainly never be forgotten.
There were a few really good individual performances last night for Everton.
But one man who came in for particular praise was Branthwaite, with Rio Ferdinand impressed by his line-breaking passing.
He said towards the end of the second-half of the game on TNT Sports: “I was thinking the exact same thing. Very clean off his left foot. Hasn’t really given much away today, broke the lines on a number of occasions with some real crispy, nice passes.
Co-commentator Ally McCoist was also impressed, adding: “I think Branthwaite has been excellent. I’ve got to say Rio, he must have done a hundred headers. He’s been great, defended well.”
Jarrad Branthwaite stats v Liverpool
Salah was given the Player of the Match award by McCoist as the game was petering out.
But McCoist did say that if the game had ended a draw, Branthwaite may have been his choice. Everton, of course, then went on to equalise.
| Jarrad Branthwaite vs Liverpool |
| Minutes played – 90+ |
| Touches – 60 |
| Passes completed – 29/37 (78%) |
| ‘Key’ passes – 1 |
| ‘Big’ chances created – 1 |
| Clearances – 16 |
| Blocks – 2 |
It really was a great performance from Branthwaite at the back for Everton.
As per Sofascore data, he made an absolutely staggering 20 defensive actions in the game, including 16 clearances.
It was a performance that will undoubtedly see his stock rise, and one would imagine officials at a number of top clubs will have liked what they saw.
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