Dirk Kuyt's 50th Liverpool goal gave his side a 1-0 victory in
a fiery 213th Merseyside derby at Anfield which saw both teams reduced
to ten men.
Liverpool played the last 55 minutes at a numerical disadvantage
after Sotirios Kyrgiakos was dismissed for a two-footed challenge
on Marouane Fellaini, while Steven Pienaar was shown a second yellow
in second-half injury time.
The red cards took the tally to 19 in the last 13 years of derbies,
but referee Martin Atkinson somehow missed Marouane Fellaini's stamp
on the Greek defender's right shin in the same incident which led
to his red card.
It threatened to overshadow a fiercely-contested encounter until
Kuyt struck early in the second half to ensure Everton's winless
run at Anfield since 1999 continued.
Liverpool have now gone seven Premier League matches without defeat,
keeping six clean sheets in the process. In contrast, Everton's
nine-match unbeaten run came to an end. The last team to beat them
before today had been Liverpool at Goodison Park in late November
and they have now won just two of the last 21 league derbies.
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