Everton finally recorded a long-awaited victory at Anfield against Liverpool.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side took an early lead as Richarlison drew first blood by latching on to a James Rodriguez through-ball and slotting past Alisson.
An end to their winless run across Stanley Park since 1999 was confirmed as Gylfi Sigurdsson slotted a penalty after Trent Alexander-Arnold’s foul Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Both teams are now level on points in the Premier League table after the Reds suffered a fourth consecutive home defeat for the first time since 1924.
Here were the key talking points from Anfield:
Blues smash their Anfield hoodoo
History came full circle for both clubs in this 238th Merseyside derby clash.
Liverpool’s ignominy of suffering a fourth straight home defeat in over a century was overshadowed by Everton’s own history-equalling feat in winning.
The visitors were always going to require something special to break the habit of a generation with a winless run at Anfield which stretched back to 1999.
Richarlison’s early opener mirrored the quick-fire nature of Kevin Campbell’s decisive strike which last gave the Blues bragging rights across Stanley Park.
Yet Carlo Ancelotti’s side did not simply end their hoodoo behind enemy lines: it was emphatically smashed by their manager’s carefully-crafted master plan.
Wednesday’s defeat to Manchester City had armed the Everton manager with a perfect road map to ultimately etch his name into the club’s modern folklore.
Ancelotti’s players defended as they had against the Premier League leaders yet matched it with a steely determination that their hosts could not break.
It was a near-perfect victory which would only have been made absolute by the visible presence of Evertonians celebrating in the lower Anfield Road End.
No escaping Reds’ rotten luck
Liverpool fans spent the latter stages of last season with the phrase ‘null and void’ ringing in their ears as the coronavirus laid siege to their title coronation.
A premature end to the current campaign would now actually be a blessing after the mirage generated by their Champions League win over RB Leipzig.
That European escapism in midweek proved no substitute for an ailing top-flight defence which suffered another seemingly inevitable injury setback.
Jordan Henderson pulled up barely half an hour in with a groin problem while he attempted to guide Ozan Kabak through another game at centre-back.
Pairing the January signing with Henderson’s replacement Nat Phillips saw Jurgen Klopp fielding his 18th different combination at the heart of defence.
Further chopping and changing is likely in the weeks ahead should early indications on the Liverpool captain’s prognosis are as bleak as they appear.
Pickford exorcises his derby demons
Everton’s players did not hold back with their jubilation at the final whistle and Jordan Pickford, more than most, deserved to bask in the limelight of it all.
The England international faced undue levels of public attack over his collision with Virgil van Dijk during October’s corresponding fixture at Goodison Park.
Anfield similarly held little fondness for him on the back of shipping a combined 12 goals in six prior visits with both the Toffees and Sunderland.
Pickford, however, produced arguably his strongest display at club level with a string of impressive stops which ensured his team’s advantage stayed intact.
Saving Henderson’s volley at full stretch and repelling Mohamed Salah from close-range either side of the interval were among the more noteworthy.
After several years of being the butt of jokes, the 26-year-old allowed himself to finally have the last laugh and exorcise some derby demons in the process.
Klopp needs to rethink attack plan
For all the complaints about defensive injuries, nothing sums up the ongoing malaise of Liverpool’s season quite like the current futility of their attack.
In Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino, they possess a trident which surpassed a cumulative triple-figure haul over the previous 18 months.
But there was little sharp about their respective shooting, or heading for that matter, against an Everton team which dug deep to consolidate their lead.
Even when their side’s moves diversified, with Trent Alexander-Arnold shifting centrally to try and force a breakthrough, Firmino skied the ball into The Kop.
It’s not just their front three that has become stale, either, as Klopp continues to make time-honoured substitutions which seldom carry the desired pay-off.
The Liverpool manager replaced Curtis Jones in midfield with Xherdan Shaqiri before opting for the cliched introduction of Divock Origi in the final minutes.
Diogo Jota’s may help re-calibrate things but Klopp still needs to find a truly effective fallback plan for when his front line fails to fire in games like this.