Liverpool vs. Everton: Rating the Reds Players in Derby Win

At long last, Liverpool get the points to show for their performance.

A devastatingly clinical hat trick from Liverpool captain Steven Gerrard ensured that the bragging rights would remain in the Red half of Merseyside, and it was comfortable for Kenny Dalglish’s side all night long, who have had questions asked of them following a recent disappointing run of form.

On his return from injury for the umpteenth time during Dalglish’s tenure, Gerrard turned in a complete performance against Everton and walked off with the match ball following his second ever hat trick in his career.

How did the Liverpool players fare in their derby win? Here are their ratings out of 10—and feel free to have your say in the comments below.

Pepe Reina turned in a typically assured performance between the sticks for Liverpool, and he dealt with the considerable aerial threat from Everton with consummate ease.

Not too much of note from Liverpool’s No. 1.

With regular starter Glen Johnson still out injured, Martin Kelly stepped up to the fore and turned in a top-class performance at right-back.

Strong in the tackle and showing plenty of pace going forward, he was also the catalyst for Liverpool’s first goal, firing in the shot that forced Tim Howard to spill out to Gerrard.

He enjoyed a few more opportunities at goal throughout the match, while he dealt admirably with Everton’s left flank of Leighton Baines and Steven Pienaar.

An assured and accomplished display from the young fullback.

Jose Enrique more than matched his colleague on the opposite flank with another trademark powerful display at left-back.

His positional play and physical strength snuffed out Seamus Coleman and Tony Hibbert, while substitute Royston Drenthe never enjoyed more than half an opportunity against Enrique.

Enrique’s form has been shakier in 2012 than in the first half of the season, but this ranked amongst his finest for the Reds.

It’s a wonder he hasn’t gotten any attention from the Spanish national team.

Vice-captain Jamie Carragher shrugged off recent criticisms about his performances—notably against Arsenal—with a professional, wholehearted display against his boyhood heroes.

He put his body on the line with a few important tackles, and his experience set the tone for a relatively comfortable night for the Liverpool defence.

Perhaps calls for his decline are a tad premature after all.

Carragher’s defensive partner, Martin Skrtel, was shifted into an unfamiliar position, taking up the left side of the central defence in Daniel Agger’s absence.

If he was uncomfortable at all in this position, though, he never showed it.

He put in a fine performance at the heart of the Liverpool defence, constantly winning headers against the bulky Denis Stracqualursi and Victor Anichebe—both of whom left the field with no contribution of note.

Yet more reason to show that he’s fast becoming one of the Premier League’s more reliable central defenders.

A shaky first half from Jordan Henderson saw possession lost at his feet time and again, as he showed the inconsistency and generally sub-par performance level that has dogged his Liverpool career thus far.

But a more confident second half saw him display his better qualities, most notably in his passing game.

Having sent a few through-balls timed to perfection, but with no end product, his neat reverse pass set Liverpool in motion for Steven Gerrard’s second goal.

In the end, Kenny Dalglish will have told him to focus on the positives in this display.

Stewart Downing showed less of his recent good form in a more central role against Everton.

While he combined well with Enrique down the left, his position behind Luis Suarez meant that he would enjoy less of the space he needs, but a telling cross that Martin Kelly just missed was a reminder that he is capable of delivering a fine ball into the box.

Liverpool-born Jay Spearing responded to yet another call from Kenny Dalglish to start a Merseyside derby, and Spearing didn’t let his manager down.

Spearing’s was a performance full of passion and heart, as well as positional awareness and tackling ability. He was ubiquitous in Liverpool’s midfield, shielding the defence and putting a stop to Everton’s build-up play—and more than complemented his skipper in the middle.

What Spearing lacks in technique and finesse, he makes up for with commitment—and this commitment was on full display at Anfield.

A second-ever hat trick in the Premier League and an all-round accomplished display from a true Liverpool legend. Steven Gerrard fully deserved the match ball at the end.

Gerrard’s predatory instincts provided the finishing touch to three excellent Liverpool goals, but he showed his whole arsenal of weapons against Everton: energy, pace, passing range and defensive work.

In a season and a half of injury hell for the No. 8, Gerrard returned with a bang and a half.

A true captain’s performance.

Not for the first time, Luis Suarez ended a match at Anfield without a goal, and not for the first time, this was not a full reflection of his contributions to the match.

Suarez was effervescent against Everton, linking up well with both Andy Carroll and Steven Gerrard on a rare start for the three forwards.

His dribbling and creativity were well matched by his work rate, which provided an endless threat to the Everton defence. He finished the night with two assists—the second after some excellent interplay between himself and Gerrard.

But not for the first time, the gloss was slightly taken off by several over-the-top reactions to non-fouls. He will have to cut the play-acting out of his game, but he remains a key component of the Liverpool attack.

As with Suarez, Andy Carroll didn’t have a goal to his name to reflect the nature of his performance against Everton.

But what a performance it was.

Carroll won almost all his aerial duels against Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin—no mean feat in itself—while also showing some phenomenal touches in the midfield and forward areas.

His link-up play with the midfield and wingers was intricate, and his passing and pace reflected a new but welcome side to this powerhouse targetman.

He will have staked his claim for a more regular starting place with this display. The challenge is on him to keep it up, but Carroll showed that he is comfortable with a passing game after all.

Dirk Kuyt stepped in as a second-half replacement for Jordan Henderson and turned in a typical hard-working performance.

His relentless hassling of the Everton midfield and defence contributed to Liverpool’s control of the game, while his passing and movement enabled Liverpool to shut down the game via keeping possession.

In short: business as usual for Kuyt.

This performance has been a long time coming for Liverpool—but it might just be too little, too late.

Given the frustrating profligacy shown up front this season, Gerrard’s lethality was a welcome sight. But too often, Liverpool have returned to their wasteful ways after a clinical display.

The challenge is on Dalglish and his squad to keep up this sort of effectiveness—if they had shown this kind of effectiveness all season, Liverpool would be right in the mix for the Champions League spots, instead of propping up the pretenders’ list.

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