Everton dented Liverpool’s Premier League title bid in the 244th Merseyside derby.

Jarrad Branthwaite broke the deadlock shortly before the half-hour mark after his shot was spilled into the net by Alisson parrying his initial effort at goal.

The Blues extended their lead in the second half through Dominic Calvert-Lewin heading in a Dwight McNeil corner unchallenged at the far post.

Sean Dyche’s side moved eight points clear of the relegation zone with a first win over their neighbours in three years and their first at home since 2010.

Here were the key talking points from Goodison Park:

Blues channel the ‘Dogs of War’

Everton’s first derby win for some time followed a historical parallel.

Joe Royle’s revered ‘Dogs of War’ sprung to life on the back of a two-goal win over Liverpool beneath the Goodison floodllghts a full three decades ago.

Lightning struck again as the Grand Old Lady basked in a halogen glow over an Everton performance that borrowed heavily from that mid-1990s heyday.

At the outset, Sean Dyche set his side up to be robust in the middle of the park while seizing capital gains through their old faithful of set pieces.

Liverpool simply struggled to withstand the frenzied intensity which bounced between the pitch and the stands from the blue half of Merseyside.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin transformed into prime Duncan Ferguson as he headed in the evening’s second goal at the Gwladys Street End’s far post.

The striker shook off his knock against Nottingham Forest to torment Ibrahima Konate in the visitors’ defence until he was hooked in the 63rd minute.

A hat-trick of home wins with matching clean sheets will soon seen Dyche emulating Royle in preserving the Blues’ top-flight survival with some to spare.

Reds choke in Klopp’s final derby

Of all the things Jurgen Klopp will miss once his time as Liverpool manager ends this summer, the Merseyside derby is unlikely to be high on that list.

Goodison, in particular, has not been a happy hunting ground for the outgoing German with just two victories behind enemy lines from his eight visits here.

Evertonians delighted in one of those six stalemates, in March 2019, as the day the Reds ‘lost the league’ in their see-saw battle with Manchester City.

Those chants were reverberating far louder at the end of his final trip across Stanley Park in a defeat just as damaging for his increasingly off-key charges.

The contrast between Dyche’s relegation-battling side and their visitors was so stark that it bordered on a role reversal for large parts of this encounter.

Few would have believed it was Everton who were seeking their first derby win in three years as well as ending a 14-year hoodoo on home terrain.

The latter, in October 2010, arrived during a transitional period at Anfield with owners Fenway Sports Group newly taking the reins just 48 hours prior.

A managerial change was in the air then, too, although news of the potential replacement was several weeks away rather than hours before kick-off.

Was this Goodison’s last great night?

Time is running out for Evertonians to savour Goodison at its finest, but they ensured the beloved old ground will go out with at least one final bang.

Huge credit for that must go to supporter group The 1878s, who have devoted both considerable time and expense to transforming the Gwladys Street End.

Their tireless efforts in transforming the famous terrace into an explosion of colour paid dividends both against Forest and in Wednesday night’s derby.

Harnessing Goodison’s bear-pit nature on match days has, understandably, been a difficult task in light of Everton’s often tumultuous league campaigns.

Needless conflict, fostered by the previous hierarchy last season, detracted from the communality that the royal blue shirt should generate in the fanbase.

Against that backdrop, coalescing around Dyche’s team has been a long and difficult process yet time has proved to be a great healer to facilitate its return.

Nights like this, fittingly on the 39th anniversary of Bayern Munich’s visit, showcase why Goodison will be such a huge loss to not just Everton but English football as a whole.

There are unlikely to be many more, if any, as the move to Bramley-Moore Dock develops apace.