Aftermath of " We will win the derby because of me"

Many Liverpudlians watched the derby last night, mostly filled with hope rather than outright confidence. They went into the game with two defeats under their new manager. The starting line-ups did not bring any surprise with the exception of Jay Spearing in the middle partnering Brazilian Lucas. During the match, Raul Meireles and Dutchman, Kuyt, were switching roles to support Fernando Torres. Maxi Rodrigues was on the left. For the blue-half of Merseyside, the starters were expected bar Steven Pienaar. The South-African has been under intense speculation of swapping the Everton jersey with that of either Chelsea or Spurs. The latest reports suggest that David Moyes has indeed accepted an offer from Carlo Ancelotti's side, which only leaves personal terms to be agreed.

The game started brightly with Torres having a shot on goal after just ten seconds. Liverpool started the better, pressing the ball high up the park. The pressing game caused Everton some problems but Liverpool were not able to find the breakthrough. Their attitude though, was appllaudable. On the half hour mark, the goal arrived. Glen Johnson, deployed at left-back, strolled down the left and cut inside to deliver a cross. The ball later fell to Kuyt who forced a save out of Tim Howard, who only managed to parry the ball into Raul Meireles' direction. The Portuguese then controlled the ball immediately and drilled the ball into the back of the net from the edge of the box. Liverpool pressed on but couldn't double their advantage and that was it for the half. A couple of the Everton players were noticeably nervous as it was their first time facing the Anfield atmosphere.

Second half was a different story. After 45 seconds, Slyvain Distin put Everton level with a powerful header after a corner kick. Everton seemed to play with more endeavour after the break. Within seven minutes, Jermaine Beckford, who also scored against Manchester United last season, put Everton in front. The ball was knocked long up to Victor Anichebe who had Martin Kelly for company. There was an elbow to Kelly's head but play went on. Leon Osman did brilliantly to escape to defenders and passed the ball to Beckford. He shielded it and shot into the bottom corner. Immediately, Liverpool's players' heads dropped. They didn't give up though, and managed to get an equaliser through a Dirk Kuyt penalty.

The surprising thing was that Dalglish did not make immediate attacking changes to rescue the game after going behind. Ryan Babel and Joe Cole were left on the bench, but Jonjo Shelvy was brought on. For some reason, Dalglish seems to fancy him.

A couple of positives from the game can be taken from the game. First, the attitude of the Liverpool players was good, showing desire and heart to really have a go for the game. 'El Nino' was also playing well and could've scored.

At the end of the day though, points is what matters and they only got one out of two games. The next game coming up is against Wolverhampton. If they don't win, then Kenny Dalglish will be under tremendous pressure. That's all for today.