Cody Gakpo scored his first goal for Liverpool and Mohamed Salah was on target as Everton were consigned to a 2-0 Merseyside derby defeat at Anfield.
The Reds' hopes of securing a top-four finish had been rocked by a run of four top-flight games without a win, but they got their first Premier League victory of 2023 on Monday.
Salah rounded off a blistering counter-attack 12 seconds after James Tarkowski had struck the post with his 18th goal of the season, having failed to find the back of the net in his previous five matches, late in the first half.
Gakpo got off the mark early in the second half as Liverpool moved up a spot to ninth and kept their neighbours in the relegation zone by consigning boss Sean Dyche to a first defeat, with substitute appearances for the fit-again Diogo Jota and Roberto Firmino also providing boosts for Jurgen Klopp.
Netherlands forward Gakpo spurned a good chance to open the scoring when he headed wide from close range early in a frantic start.
Tarkowski came agonisingly close to scoring a second goal in as many games after his winner against Arsenal when he rose to meet Alex Iwobi's corner with a header that struck that post, and Liverpool were in front moments later.
Everton were badly caught out on the break as Darwin Nunez darted forward and picked out Salah, who tucked into an empty net with Jordan Pickford in no man's land nine minutes before the break.
The Toffees were once again caught on the break four minutes into the second half, when Conor Cody failed to deal with Trent Alexander-Arnold's dangerous cross and Gakpo got off the mark with a tap-in.
Nunez was denied by Pickford from tight angle and bent an effort just wide after being set up by Gakpo as Everton continued to be opened up all too easily.
Ellis Simms was withdrawn after being handed a start with Dominic Calvert-Lewin unfit, before Jota and Firmino were given great ovations when they came off the bench, and Tom Davies' glaring miss with a header from close range summed up Everton's day.
Feyenoord coach Arne Slot in contention to replace Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool
Feyenoord coach Arne Slot has emerged as a leading candidate to succeed Jurgen Klopp when he leaves as Liverpool manager at the end of the campaign.
Slot guided the Dutch club to their first title in six years last season and currently has them in second place in the Eredivisie table having won the Dutch Cup at the weekend.
The PA news agency understands Liverpool consider Slot to fit all the criteria set out in their recruitment process, although they are still looking at other contenders.
Gian Piero Gasperini talks up Atalanta’s ‘extraordinary’ season
Atalanta head coach Gian Piero Gasperini acknowledges that his club are enjoying a “fantastic” season after reaching two semi-finals and challenging for Champions League qualification from Serie A.
But the campaign’s business end has now arrived, with Atalanta putting their Coppa Italia hopes on the line in Wednesday’s semi-final second leg against Fiorentina.
They have a Europa League semi-final against Marseille ahead of them next month, but their first task is to try and overturn a 1-0 deficit when Fiorentina arrive in Bergamo.
“This year is extraordinary,” Gasperini told Gazzetta dello Sport.
“Now let’s see in the next matches between the Italian Cup and the recoveries. The season is fantastic, now we are in the final verdicts.”
Asked if the season would only be a good one if Atalanta win a trophy, he added: “Winners only if you win a trophy? No, it’s idiocy.
“We each have to reach our own goals, otherwise we would all be losers in life and that’s not how it works. I consider myself lucky for what I’ve done in the various places I’ve been in.”
Atalanta’s solitary Coppa Italia success in the final came 61 years ago with a 3-1 victory over Torino, and they have lost on four successive return visits.
Fiorentina, meanwhile, last lifted the trophy in 2001, and they head to Bergamo on the back of a 2-0 Serie A win against Salernitana.
Andrea Belotti, Nico Gonzalez, Luca Beltran and Giacomo Bonaventura all missed that game with knocks, but should return in an anticipated much-changed team.
Gasperini also rotated his squad for the league clash against Monza, but he is likely to field a more familiar starting XI, with Gianluca Scamacca and Marten de Roon among those recalled.
Fiorentina boss Vincenzo Italiano said: “We have the merit of arriving in May and still being in certain matches, which cannot allow us to switch off.
“We must all be ready and motivated to give 100 per cent, because in these close matches it doesn’t take much to not being able to perform at our best. But we all have guys who always respond when called upon.”
Jurgen Klopp insists winning is all that matters ahead of final Merseyside derby
Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp accepts results are all that matter at this stage of the season as he looks to end his final Merseyside derby with a rare victory at Goodison Park.
Klopp has lost just one of 18 matches against the Toffees – the behind-closed-doors game at Anfield in February 2021 – but across Stanley Park his record is just two wins and five draws.
He was surprised by some of the reaction to Sunday’s 3-1 win at Fulham, which attracted criticism for not being the most fluent, but insists winning was the main objective, with no margin for error in a title race in which they are currently third favourites.
“I know this is the last part of the season: it is not about playing the freshest football of the whole year – that would be strange if that works out with the schedule all the teams have,” said Klopp, who will be without Diogo Jota for at least a fortnight after the forward injured himself scoring at Craven Cottage.
“But you have to win games and I think we know how to do that and we have to make sure everybody understands the way we want to try (on Wednesday).
“I wouldn’t say it was straightforward but until two weeks ago everything was probably better than anyone would have expected.
“Then you have this week (losing to Atalanta and Crystal Palace) when the performances were not as bad as the results felt afterwards.
“And then it is like, ‘Why don’t you score enough? If you look at our numbers, yes, there are two teams who have scored more than us (Arsenal and Manchester City) but it is not like there are two teams who scored 50 goals more than us.
“It is always about how you can get the right feeling again for the situation and the next game and we usually do that. I am really happy now with the response.”
Liverpool’s disappointing run of games at Goodison stretches beyond Klopp’s arrival in 2015, with nine of the last 11 encounters ending in draws.
Klopp’s five draws are more than at any other away ground, but that has to change on Wednesday night if they are to maintain the pressure on Arsenal and Manchester City.
“I don’t know exactly when my first derby was, 2016, but when I (first) came here it would not be honest if I said that is my game of the year. It wasn’t, I knew how important it was for the people, but didn’t feel it then.
“Now I know it and feel it. My understanding developed over the years. They are always difficult games, especially there, but it is not too important, what we had in the past.”
Losing Jota will not help in unlocking what is likely to be a determined Everton defence, especially as Mohamed Salah, Darwin Nunez and Luis Diaz have all looked below their best in recent weeks.
“Unfortunately Diogo scored the goal, felt a little bit and now we found out it’s a little bit more so he will be out for two weeks,” said Klopp, who revealed Jota had complained of a hip problem in the last couple of weeks.
“It’s a small one but we are late in the season, so obviously now it’s not a great moment for each injury pretty much.
“When I say two weeks, actually really it’s pretty much nothing but enough to not be available.”
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