Everton told to copy Liverpool in one area as former player speaks out
Everton have been urged to learn from Liverpool after the defeat in the Merseyside Derby on Wednesday.
The Toffees travelled to face their local rivals on 2 April and fell to a 1-0 defeat thanks to a second-half Diego Jota strike.
This came after James Tarkowski avoided a red card for a follow-through challenge on Alexis Mac Allister and a disallowed Beto goal in the first half.
Things could have been different for David Moyes’ side in L4 if they had learnt from their opponents as they went on to secure three points.
Everton urged to learn from Liverpool
The Anfield club are sitting top of the Premier League with seven games remaining after what has been a largely perfect season for Arne Slot.
The Reds now look destined to earn their second-ever Premier League title with the likes of Virgil van Dijk and Mohamed Salah once again having a telling impact.
| Position | Club | Games played | Goal difference | Points |
| 1. | Liverpool | 31 | +42 | 73 |
| 2. | Arsenal | 31 | +30 | 62 |
| 3. | Nottingham Forest | 31 | +14 | 57 |
| 4. | Chelsea | 31 | +17 | 53 |
With that being said, Michael Ball believes the Toffees could learn from Liverpool with a view to getting the better of the opposition moving forward.
The former Toffees ace told the Liverpool Echo (7 April) that his old side should copy Slot’s men when it comes to communication from match officials to try and force decisions to go through.
He said: “The referee at Anfield has got to be stronger. It was his first Merseyside Derby and that showed because Virgil van Dijk was basically refereeing the game for him.
“You’ve got to be cute and clever. It’s not the first time Liverpool players have done that, surrounding the referee and trying to dictate proceedings, they’ve done it for many years, so we could take a leaf out of their book to try and force the referee to look at incidents.
“Sometimes, we’re too nice and too naive. That’s us not having the football intelligence to take one for the team, you’ve got to be able to sense the danger and stop the rhythm of a team’s attack.”
Everton could benefit from Liverpool lessons
There is no doubt that the Anfield outfit have been the best in the Premier League this season and have showcased a wide range of positive aspects.
It would certainly be a wise move to take after the Reds and learn from them and move up the league table ready for a move to the Bramley-Moore Docks.
If the Toffees could be more streetwise with match officials, there is every chance that they could be looked upon more favourably in L4.
The likes of Tarkowski, Ashley Young and Idrissa Gueye have plenty of experience to make them useful at making the most of that element.
It will be interesting to see how the Goodison outfit can develop moving forward to see if they can take advantage of this change after the Merseyside derby.