Everton 1-2 Liverpool: Van Dijk Winner Seals Historic Derby At Hill Dickinson Stadium

Match Details

• Competition: Premier League
• Date: Saturday 19th April 2026
• Venue: Hill Dickinson Stadium, Liverpool
• Final Score: Everton 1 - 2 Liverpool
• Half Time: Everton 0 - 1 Liverpool (2 minutes added time)
• Attendance: 52,585
• Referee: Christopher Kavanagh (4th Official: Andrew Madley, VAR: Paul Howard)

Match Stats & Key Metrics

	Everton	Liverpool
Score	1	2
Half Time	0	1
Goalscorers	Beto 54'	Salah 29', van Dijk 90+10'
Formation	4-2-3-1	4-2-3-1
Yellow Cards	Pickford 22', Garner 90+12'	-
Red Cards	-	-
Substitutions	George 80' (McNeil), Barry 73' (Beto), Keane 87' (Branthwaite, injury)	Ngumoha 72' (Isak), Mac Alister 84' (Gakpo), Frimpong 84' (Wirtz), Kerkez 86' (Robertson), Woodman 57' (Mamardashvilli, injury)
Attendance	52,585

The Story of the Match

LIVERPOOL won the 248th Merseyside derby with Everton which was for the first time it was played at the new Hill Dickinson Stadium on the bank of the River Mersey. Liverpool were second best in the first half as Everton oozed class and even had an Iliman Ndiaye goal disallowed before Liverpool opened the scoring through the returning Mohamed Salah who slotted home from close range to make it 0-1 from an assist by Cody Gakpo in the 29th minute. Liverpool led at the interval but Everton came back strongly and equalised through the industrious Beto with a close range shot from an assist by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to make it 1-1 in the 54th minute. Then when you thought it was going to be a draw Liverpool scored with a headed winner through captain Virgil van Dijk from close range from a corner by Dominik Szoboszlai to make it 1-2 in the 90th minute plus ten in front of a crowd of 52,585 fans in the sunshine.

Everton had won just one of their last fourteen Premier League home games against Liverpool, though ten of those games have finished level (lost just three). Liverpool have won their last two Premier League games against Everton, though both have come at Anfield.

The Toffees last won three consecutive league Merseyside derbies between April 2016 and April 2017. Having won six of their first fifteen Premier League meetings with Liverpool between 1992 and 1999 (drawn six, lost three), Everton had won just five of their last fifty two league Merseyside derbies since the start of 2000 (drawn twenty, lost twenty seven).

Everton had won their last two home Premier League matches, and were looking to win three in a row at the Hill Dickinson Stadium for the first time in what was their 17th game there. It took them eighteen matches to win three in a row at Goodison Park.

Victory for Everton on the blue side of the City would have seen them hit the 50-point mark in a Premier League season for the first time since 2020-21 under Carlo Ancelotti (fifty nine).

Beto has been involved in five goals in his last five Premier League appearances (four goals, one assist), with only Bruno Fernandes (seven) involved in more since the start of this run on 28th February, while no player has scored more goals in that time; he is level with Brentford's Igor Thiago.

Everton came into the Merseyside derby against Liverpool off the back of three wins against Newcastle United away (3-2), Burnley at home (2-0) and Chelsea at home (3-0), a draw against Brentford away (2-2) last time out and a defeat against Arsenal away (0-2).

This was Liverpool's first Premier League game at Everton's Hill Dickinson Stadium. The Reds have won at fifty nine of the sixty one grounds they have played at in the League, and became the first team to win at sixty different stadia in the Premier League.

Liverpool had won three of their last twenty two away Premier League matches against teams starting the day in the top half of the table (drawn ten, lost nine), including losing six of their last seven (drawn one) since a 2-0 win at Manchester City last February.

Defeat for Liverpool would have seen them lose more than ten games in a season for the first time since 2014-15 (twelve), while it would have been the most by a reigning champion since Leicester City lost eighteen in 2016-17.

Hugo Ekitikie scored what proved to be Liverpool's winner in the reverse fixture against Everton. The only player to score home and away Premier League goals for the Reds against the Toffees in their debut season with the club is Sadio Mane in 2016-17.

Only Manchester United's Bruno Fernandes (seventy five) has created more chances in open play in the Premier League this season than Liverpool's Florian Wirtz (fifty). He is the first Reds player to create 50 or more open play chances in his first league season with the club since Mohamed Salah in 2017-18 (fifty three).

Meanwhile Liverpool came into the match in poor form with just a single win against Fulham at home (2-0) and four defeats against Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League Quarter Final second leg at home (0-2) last time out, Paris Saint-Germain in the Champions League Quarter Final first leg away (0-2), Manchester City in the FA Cup Quarter Final away (0-4) and Brighton and Hove Albion away (1-2).

David Moyes the Everton manager started with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Jordan Pickford in goal, then a back four of Jake O'Brien, James Tarkowski, Jarrod Branthwaite and Vitaliy Mykolenko, then two holding midfielders in Idrissa Gueye and James Garner, then three attacking midfielders in Dwight McNeil, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye with Beto up front.

Arne Slot the Liverpool boss started with a 4-2-3-1 formation with Giorgi Mamardashvili in goal, then a back four of Curtis Jones, Ibrahima Konate, captain Virgil van Dijk and Andrew Robertson, then two holding midfielders in Ryan Gravenberch and Dominik Szoboszlai, then three attacking midfielders in Mohamed Salah, Cody Gakpo and Florian Wirtz with Alexander Isak up front.

Everton kicked off the first half. The opening exchanges were typical of the Merseyside derby, the 248th and the first at the Hill Dickinson Stadium. In the fifth minute Beto headed a Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall cross on target but Giorgi Mamardashvili saved. Liverpool had a corner in the ninth minute taken by Szoboszlai, headed clear at the near post. Everton were dominant and forced another free kick in a dangerous position in the 14th minute which was taken by James Garner but saved by Mamardashvili.

Beto was through on goal in the 16th minute but fired his effort wide of the target. Dwight McNeil was through and shot left-footed in the 17th minute from the edge of the Liverpool penalty area but his effort was blocked by Ibrahima Konate.

Idrissa Gueye was fouled in the 21st minute but Virgil van Dijk was not booked, while Jordan Pickford picked up a yellow card for words with referee Christopher Kavanagh in the 22nd minute.

Everton took a deserved lead through Iliman Ndiaye from close range in the 27th minute to make it 1-0 to the Toffees, but the goal was overturned by VAR. Then with Liverpool's next attack Mohamed Salah slotted home from close range to make it 0-1 from an assist by Cody Gakpo in the 29th minute.

Everton continued to press for an equaliser before the break but it was Liverpool who went close to a second goal through a right-footed shot from Gakpo that was tipped over the crossbar by Pickford for a corner in the 41st minute.

Everton were unfortunate to be behind at the interval as Liverpool led 0-1 at the break. Neither side made any half-time substitutions.

Everton came back strongly and equalised through the industrious Beto with a close range shot from an assist by Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall to make it 1-1 in the 54th minute. Giorgi Mamardashvili the Reds goalkeeper suffered an injury in the build-up to the goal. He left the field injured on a stretcher and was replaced by Freddie Woodman in the Reds goal in the 57th minute.

Iliman Ndiaye saw a left-footed shot from 12 yards out saved well by Freddie Woodman as Everton piled on the pressure with a fast counter attack. Robertson up from the back fired a left-footed shot wide of the Everton goal in the 66th minute.

Vitaliy Mykolenko put some good balls into the Liverpool penalty area looking for Beto but van Dijk and Konate were equal to the Everton pressure. Liverpool replaced Alexander Isak with Rio Ngumoha in the 72nd minute. Everton replaced Beto with Thierno Barry in the 73rd minute.

David Moyes' second substitution saw Tyrique George come on for Dwight McNeil in the 79th minute. Liverpool manager Arne Slot made a double substitution with Alexis Mac Alister coming on for Cody Gakpo and Jeremie Frimpong coming on for Florian Wirtz in the 84th minute. Andrew Robertson was replaced by Milos Kerkez in the 86th minute as Liverpool added fresh legs for what remained of the game.

Everton replaced the injured Jarrod Branthwaite with Michael Keane in the 87th minute. The game was still level at 1-1 but there were 11 minutes of added time. Rio Ngumoha fired over the crossbar in the 90th plus 8th minute which would have been an unjust winner for the Reds.

Then when you thought it was going to be a draw, Liverpool scored with a headed winner through captain Virgil van Dijk from close range from a corner by Dominik Szoboszlai to make it 1-2 in the 90th plus 10th minute in front of a crowd of 52,585 fans in the sunshine. Garner was yellow carded in the 90th plus 12th minute.

Everton deserved better than the result but it was not to be in the first Hill Dickinson Stadium derby for the blue side of the City, as the Reds won it late on in a quite magnificent new state of the art stadium built in an amazing location on the banks of the River Mersey.

Timeline of Key Events

• 5' Beto heads Dewsbury-Hall cross on target, Mamardashvili saves
• 14' Garner free kick saved by Mamardashvili (Everton dangerous position)
• 16' Beto through on goal but fires wide
• 17' McNeil shot from edge of area blocked by Konate
• 22' Pickford yellow carded for words with referee Kavanagh
• 27' Ndiaye close-range goal for Everton ruled out by VAR (1-0 overturned)
• 29' Mohamed Salah slots home from Cody Gakpo assist (0-1)
• 41' Gakpo shot tipped over by Pickford for corner
• Half Time Everton 0 Liverpool 1 (2 minutes added time)
• 54' Beto close range shot from Dewsbury-Hall assist - equaliser (1-1)
• 57' Woodman replaces injured Mamardashvili (Liverpool)
• 66' Robertson fires wide from left back position
• 72' Ngumoha replaces Isak (Liverpool)
• 73' Barry replaces Beto (Everton)
• 79' George replaces McNeil (Everton)
• 84' Mac Alister replaces Gakpo; Frimpong replaces Wirtz (Liverpool)
• 86' Kerkez replaces Robertson (Liverpool)
• 87' Keane replaces injured Branthwaite (Everton)
• 90+8' Ngumoha fires over the crossbar (Liverpool chance)
• 90+10' Van Dijk heads home Szoboszlai corner for the winner (1-2)
• 90+12' Garner yellow carded (Everton)
• Full Time Everton 1 Liverpool 2 (11 minutes added time)

Author's Standout Players

• Beto (Everton) - Tireless and menacing throughout, causing van Dijk and Konate constant problems before scoring Everton's equaliser with a composed close-range finish; Everton's most dangerous attacker from first minute to substitution
• Virgil van Dijk (Liverpool) - Commanding at the back all afternoon, repelling the Everton pressure when the Reds were on the ropes, then delivering the match-winning moment with a powerful header deep into stoppage time
• Mohamed Salah (Liverpool) - The returning forward showed his quality with a clinical finish to open the scoring on 29 minutes, and his movement and intelligence caused Everton problems throughout the first half
• Dominik Szoboszlai (Liverpool) - Drove Liverpool forward consistently and delivered the decisive corner that van Dijk converted, his set-piece delivery ultimately the difference between the two sides on the day