Rooney Penalty Gives Everton Point Against Liverpool in Merseyside Derby
A late Wayne Rooney penalty gave Everton an unexpected point against Liverpool at Anfield in Sunday's Merseyside derby.
The dominant Reds took the lead on the stroke of half-time when Mohamed Salah curled an immaculate shot into the far corner.
They appeared to be cruising towards victory, but with a little over ten minutes left to play, the away side were awarded a penalty and Rooney fired home from the spot.
It was Liverpool that began on top, dominating possession and pinning a cautious Everton side into their own half.
Sam Allardyce's visitors were evidently content to sit back with numbers in defence, and offered almost no attacking ambition on the rare occasions they ventured forward.
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But it worked well, Liverpool restricted to long-range efforts and only coming close when James Milner met a Mohamed Salah cross and saw his effort blocked by Jonjoe Kenny.
It seemed that Everton might successfully frustrate the hosts, but four minutes before the break, a moment of brilliance from Salah gave Liverpool the lead. The prolific Egyptian cut onto his left foot in the box and curled a shot superbly into the far corner.
The lead could have doubled moments before half-time when Sadio Mane raced through, only to drag his shot disappointingly wide with Salah free to his right.
A similar pattern was established at the start of the second-half, and Liverpool came within inches of a second goal. Salah met a deep cross but could only guide his header just wide of Jordan Pickford's goal.
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Everton's offensive threat, meanwhile, continued to be non-existent; it seemed only a matter of time until Jurgen Klopp's side would seal the victory.
But, completely against the run of play and from a fairly innocuous situation, the away side were awarded a penalty when Dejan Lovren was deemed to have pushed Dominic Calvert-Lewin. Rooney emphatically converted in front of the delirious Everton supporters to draw his side level with just over ten minutes remaining.
Liverpool could find no way through Everton's compact defence after the equaliser, and were made to rue their profligacy.
They remained in fourth place with a point, while the Toffees climbed to tenth having halted a run of three successive defeats.
