A late Wayne Rooney penalty earned Everton a point in this season’s first Merseyside derby.

Liverpool had taken the lead in a first half they dominated, with Mohamed Salah’s superb curling effort seeing the hosts heading into the interval ahead.

Poor finishing stopped Jurgen Klopp’s side extending their lead, which would come back to haunt them when Dejan Lovren shoved Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Rooney stepped up to convert the penalty to rescue an unlikely point point with only Everton’s second spot kick at Anfield since 1937.

Here were the key talking points from the 229th derby:

Blues’ mental block still showing

 

Sam Allardyce has been vocal about his desire to change the current mindset at Everton, with plans to bring in a club psychologist already afoot.

The message is a clear one; he wants the Blues to think like winners. It appears that does not count when travelling to Anfield, however.

Big Sam delivered on his promise, instructing his side to sit deep, frustrate Liverpool and leave it to the hosts to find a way through their low block.

It meant Everton were as doleful as they often are at Anfield, offering neither an attacking threat or challenge to Liverpool for large parts of the game.

Only Wayne Rooney’s late second-half penalty seemed to spark the passion and energy that most expect as a minimum requirement.

If Allardyce thinks changing Everton’s mentality will be key to success, his first Merseyside derby will have shown to him just how big a task that will be.

Deep defences no longer a problem

 

It became evident last season that employing a deep-sitting defence was a guaranteed winning tactic against Liverpool.

Time and time again, teams turned up at Anfield and utilised it, ultimately leaving with either a share of the spoils or all of them.

Finding a way past it will have been a key enterprise for Jurgen Klopp and it’s a task he’s close to completing.

Regardless of Mohamed Salah’s superb opener, Liverpool were creating chances at will throughout the game despite the bus parked in front of them.

Had the breakthrough not come from the Egyptian, it would have emerged from somewhere else and that will be a major positive to take from the game.

Only poor finishing stopped this being another seismic scoreline and a fourth straight derby win.

Rooney’s revival stumbles

 

After a hat-trick against West Ham and a stellar performance against Huddersfield Town, Rooney was enjoying something of a mini-resurgence.

He will have been determined to ride that wave and put in another top performance at Anfield. Sadly, it was something he was unable to do.

Tasked with stopping James Milner, Andrew Robertson and Sadio Mane linking up on the Liverpool left, Rooney was painfully exposed on a number of occasions throughout the first half.

At times the game simply passed the veteran by, with him noticeably struggling to keep up with Liverpool’s pace.

His manager believes the debate over Rooney playing in midfield has been settled but this game showed that is far from the truth.

Klopp learns his lesson

 

There were more than a few raised eyebrows that Jurgen Klopp left Philippe Coutinho and Roberto Firmino sat on the bench for a Merseyside derby.

Splitting up the ‘Fab Four’ and handing starting roles to Alex-Oxlade-Chamberlain and Dominic Solanke seemed like madness.

It was, however, a telling sign that the Reds boss has learned from the painful lessons of last season when his refusal to rotate his squad nearly cost a Champions League place.

For some, that is a positive but Klopp still has much to learn when it comes to picking the right time to change up his team.

The decision to leave out Firmino and Coutinho ultimately cost him this time and in hindsight, it’s one he wouldn’t make again.