Sunday 10 December 2017 14:39, UK
Ahead of Derby Day, live on Sky Sports, we recall the last time Everton beat Liverpool at Anfield.
Everton are hoping to end an 18-year winless streak at the home of their Merseyside rivals on Sunday, an unhappy record which dates all the way back to the 1999/00 campaign.
With help from Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher, who played that day, we remember Everton's stormy 1-0 win in a game which included three red cards and plenty of drama.
It was September 1999 and Everton, managed by Walter Smith, sat seventh, three points ahead of 12th-placed Liverpool. The Toffees were the form side having won four of their previous five Premier League games, while Liverpool were struggling to find any kind of consistency under Gerard Houllier, who had taken over from Roy Evans in the previous season.
Everton got the breakthrough after just four minutes. Nick Barmby burst into the Liverpool box and squared the ball to Everton youngster Francis Jeffers, who flicked it through to Kevin Campbell. His low finish clipped Sander Westerveld on its way into the bottom corner of the net.
Carragher, aged 21 at the time, shouldered the blame having played Campbell onside in the build-up. "We got beat at Anfield and I was actually involved in the goal and probably should have done better, so was maybe at fault for the game," he later told Sky Sports. "I had a really poor game and will never forget it."
Everton sat back and hit Liverpool on the counter-attack after that, with the hosts repeatedly losing possession in dangerous areas. Houllier's men were fortunate to keep the deficit to one goal, in fact, with Jeffers wasting Everton's best chances. For Carragher, a difficult afternoon continued.
"I remember coming in at half-time," he added. "You would have six or seven studs in a boot and I had two left on my right boot. I was slipping all over the place and was like a lunatic at half-time changing boots.
"I will always remember everywhere I went I was always slipping over, it was to do with the boots and the studs had not been done properly. I never wore Reebok boots again!"
It was a busy afternoon for referee Mike Riley, who at times struggled to keep an ill-tempered game under control. The first major flashpoint arrived midway through the first half, when Michael Owen threw himself into a late and wild tackle on David Weir. It earned the striker a yellow card but it could easily have been red.
Instead, the first dismissals did not come until the 75th minute, when Jeffers and Westerveld were caught up in an extraordinary confrontation. The Liverpool goalkeeper took exception to a late follow through from Jeffers, swinging an arm at the Everton man, who responded in kind. When the two players were pulled apart, both were given their marching orders.
Liverpool had made their third and final substitution just five minutes earlier, so the home side were forced to put defender Steve Staunton in goal for the remainder of the game. The Irishman made a brilliant save from Abel Xavier in stoppage time to keep the score at 1-0, but not before Liverpool were shown their second red card.
This time Steven Gerrard was the offender. The young substitute was making only the second Merseyside derby appearance of his fledgling career but he left Riley with little choice but to brandish the red card when he clattered into Campbell with a knee-high challenge as Everton attempted to break.
The win sent Everton up to sixth but their form deteriorated thereafter. Smith's side did not win any of their next nine games and eventually finished the season down in 13th place, some 17 points behind Liverpool, who managed to recover from their poor start to the campaign.
Everton had the last laugh in the return game in April, however. Second-placed Liverpool made the short journey to Goodison Park needing a win to keep the heat on leaders Manchester United, but they were unable to break the Toffees down. The game eventually finished goalless, allowing United to clinch the title with a 3-1 win at Southampton the following day.
Liverpool are still waiting for their first Premier League title, but they have certainly had the better of the Merseyside rivalry. On Derby Day this weekend, we will find out whether Everton can finally repeat the feat of that September afternoon in 1999.
Watch Liverpool v Everton live on Sky Sports Premier League HD from 1pm on Sunday, or watch for £6.99 without a contract, on NOW TV
