The 241st Merseyside derby ended in a scoreless tie at Goodison Park on Saturday afternoon. Unlike most goalless games, this match was a wildly entertaining one. Both goalkeepers made some stunning saves but, Everton's Jordan Pickford put in an effort that will go down in the city of Liverpool as one of the great goalkeeping performances of all time.

Pickford made 8 saves during the match and all of them were in the very good to the absolutely stunning range. Liverpool also managed to hit 3 posts in the match, including one by Mohamed Salah in the 95th minute.

It is the 12th goalless draw in the history of the Merseyside derby. The Reds' keeper Alisson only had to make 3 saves but without his efforts, Everton would have won today. The game had opportunity after opportunity for both sides to score but, it just wasn't meant to be.

At times, Everton looked more aggressive and incisive than Liverpool. However, to Liverpool's credit, they responded time and again. The problem is that this is the Reds dropping points on the road again. Liverpool remain winless away from Anfield to start the season. 

Both teams deserved goals in this match, and Everton actually scored one in the 69th minute. Conor Coady was offside by inches and a VAR review took the only goal scored in the afternoon off the scoreboard. 

First Half

The first half of the Merseyside derby was full of emotion and physical play. Liverpool had more overall possession but Everton looked very dangerous on the counterattack. The first half hour saw the Reds repeatedly probing at the Everton zone. Many of the passes into the zone didn't find a Liverpool player on the end of them.

Everton had less of the ball but, in the early stages of the game, looked much more dangerous when they were on the attack. The game really started to heat up around the 25th minute through some physical play by Kostas Tsimikas. 

The Greek defender committed to two hard challenges through the backs of Demari Gray and Anthony Gordon. Gordon got called on a retaliatory foul in the 26th minute, which led to a free kick. Since it is a derby, the physical play was to be expected and the opening half hour met that expectation. 

Everton had the first real chance of the match in the 32nd minute. Liverpool failed to clear the ball and a scramble ensued in front of the net. Everton forward, Tom Davies, found the loose ball and smashed it off the left post.

Toward the end of the half, Liverpool started to find their offensive game. A wild run of play in the 43rd minute nearly led to the Reds breaking the scoreless deadlock. 

Darwin Núñez took a long ball fed down the right channel off of his chest. He then sizzled the ball toward the goal and Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford made a flying save. His save tipped the ball off the crossbar and out for a Liverpool corner.

From the corner, the ball ended up on the foot of Luis Díaz. Díaz then unleashed one of his patented rockets which also found the woodwork. It was remarkable that Liverpool didn't score and it was a remarkable way to end the half.

Second Half

Jürgen Klopp decided at the half to make some changes to the changes he made going into the game. Roberto Firmino subbed on for Fabio Carvalho at the half, and it seemed to have an immediate effect. The Liverpool attack looked much more focused coming out of the halftime break.

Klopp made two more substitutions in the 59th minute. Andy Robertson and James Milner came on for Tsimikas and Trent Alexander-Arnold. From that point on, all hell broke loose and the last half hour plus of the match was frantic. 

In the 64th minute, Pickford stopped a low shot by Firmino with a diving save. The save went out of bounds for a corner, and in the resulting corner Firmino got a header toward the net which Pickford saved again. 

The resulting corner from the second save dropped to Fabinho, who shot it back at Pickford. Once again, the England international number one keeper was there to keep the ball out for Everton. It was a manic stretch of play that certainly earned Pickford the man of the match honours. 

After the third Pickford save, Everton sprung a counterattack on the Reds. They ended up with a 5-on-3 rush with Neil Maupay taking the shot, forcing Alisson into one of his saves. 

Not long after that was the Everton disallowed goal. It was a good build-up with a nice cross from Maupay across the front of the net. Conor Coady snapped the ball past Alisson and Goodison Park went wild. Fortunately for the Reds, Coady was inches offside and VAR overturned the goal.

Liverpool and Everton kept exchanging chances through the rest of the half. Diogo Jota and Joël Matip would sub in the 79th minute. It was Jota's first appearance of the season but, unfortunately, none of the changes resulted in a goal for the Reds.

Man Of The Match and What's Next

Like it or not, the Man of the Match is Jordan Pickford. The Everton goalkeeper is the reason that the Reds were held off the board. 8 saves is an impressive afternoon's work. 

Liverpool's Man of the Match is the other goalkeeper. Alisson answered every challenge that Everton offered. The big Brazilian was up for it and was the best Red on the pitch for the 90 minutes. 

Next up for Liverpool is the start of the 2022/23 Champions League campaign. They travel to Naples to face Napoli on Tuesday night. Their next Premier League match will be next Saturday at Anfield versus Wolverhampton Wanderers. 

LFC Globe Verdict

Liverpool need to be better on the road. It's that simple. They have gotten their legs under them when they are at Anfield. However, they still seem to lack an attacking edge away from home. They'll have to find it fast as they travel to Italy on Tuesday.

The Reds also have to sort out their slow starts. Today's match was different in that they held possession early but, they looked fairly harmless. It took nearly the entire first half for Liverpool to get a good chance on goal. Liverpool have to show up on time for every match. They've been late to work nearly every match this season and that's just not good enough.