Merseyside derby - The best in the Premier League

Imagine a scenario in a residence, where the dad supports Liverpool, and the son, Everton. This would be the perfect recipe for a sleepless night in that house after the Merseyside derby, where an endless amount of discussion would take place about the nature of the goals and fouls conceded. To make it worse, what if both the dad and son sat down for the weekend’s Merseyside derby in front of the same television. With two clubs in such close proximity to each other, both have an equal number of supporters on either side of the Stanley Park. The city comes to a standstill to watch the Merseyside derby.

Only Stanley Park separates the two clubs, whose history is among the finest in English football. Everton has won top flight of English football nine times, whereas Liverpool stands tall amongst English clubs with 18 titles. But both clubs have had a slump of late, with Everton winning their last league title in 1986-87 and Liverpool in 1989-90. However, those slumps will go unnoticed when the whistle is blown at Anfield in a few days’ time for the match between the two sides.

When these two sides meet, records do not hold much significance for players, as they treat this game as their last and play to win at all costs. Sometimes, the cost of a victory may be ugly as well, with numerous bad injuries, red cards and even fights within the match in the past. The players are also so desperate to participate in the derby that they even lie to their managers. This happened with Jamie Carragher when he once told his manager, Rafa Benitez, that he was fit enough to play in spite of being injured and not match fit.

But these are all part and parcel of a Merseyside derby, which has witnessed the maximum number of red cards dished out when compared to other EPL derbies in the last 15 years or so. Not even the London derby, nor the Manchester derby has seen so many red cards. The Merseyside derby is always characterized by high-flying tackles, a never-give-up attitude, a fight for the ball till the last , aggressive play and great goals, with the sole objective of putting one over the opponents. One such tackle that springs to one’s mind is Steven Gerrard’s two-footed tackle on Gary Naysmith, which Gerrard later apologised for. Such tackles are commonplace in such a high-voltage match.

Liverpool has enjoyed more success in Merseyside derbies in the recent past, winning three and drawing one. But as mentioned earlier, the form book goes out of the window in the Merseyside derby, so Liverpool’s current form, even after thrashing Newcastle, will count for nothing. It will be a fresh start when these teams clash at Anfield this Sunday.

However, one should not take the focus away from the game, which takes place on the centre of the pitch. It is expected to be one of the most entertaining games of the season, one packed with goals. The last time these two sides met was at Goodison Park, where the game finished 2-2. Other games that rank among the best Merseyside derbies include the 4-4 draw in 1991 ranks and Liverpool’s victory over Everton in the 1989 FA Cup final, which was taken to extra-time. Even if the match over the weekend has half the excitement that these games produced, then it would be the game of football which would turn victorious, irrespective of the result.