Everton 1-1 Liverpool: Honours even in Merseyside derby as Katie Stengel rescues point for Reds

The spoils were shared in the Merseyside derby as Everton and Liverpool played out a 1-1 draw in front of a record crowd at Goodison Park.

Over 22,000 fans were in attendance, a record for an Everton game in the Women’s Super League, and they were treated to a superb contest.

Everton took the lead against the run of play but were pegged back before the interval and there was controversy in the second half as Liverpool had a goal ruled out.

The draw keeps the gap between the two sides at six points, with Everton in sixth and Liverpool eighth.

Liverpool made a bright start, with players snapping into tackles and taking the game to Everton.

And it was against the run of play when Everton took the lead on 27 minutes. Toffees skipper Gabby George wheeled away in celebration after her effort from the left flank looped over Rachael Laws. The goalkeeper’s reaction told everyone inside Goodison Park that she should have dealt with the effort.

The lead was almost doubled on 30 minutes as Megan Finnigan’s stinging drive beat Laws, but Gemma Bonner did superbly to get behind her goalkeeper and clear off the line.

After a tough 10 minutes, Liverpool regrouped and the impressive Yana Daniels played in Missy Bo Kearns but she dragged her shot across the face of goal.

Daniels teed up Emma Koivisto moments later, but she prodded her shot agonisingly wide.

The pressure paid off on 40 minutes, as Katie Stengel showed great touch to collect a ball fired into the box, get it out of her feet and slot home for Liverpool’s first goal in the Merseyside derby since 2019.

Everton had a chance to restore their lead on 43 minutes. Laws missed her punch from a corner and was fortunate to see Rikke Sevecke fire the loose ball over the top.

Liverpool thought they had taken the lead on 52 minutes when Leighanne Robe turned home a well-worked corner routine, but the effort was ruled out. It was not clear what prompted referee Lauren Impey to chalk it off.

Nicoline Sorensen tormented the Liverpool defence down the right and came close to crafting a second for Everton, but Jess Park was unable to convert with her header following a brilliant run and cross from her team-mate.

Liverpool introduced Shanice Van de Sanden and her pace added a different dimension to their play. She broke down the left and pulled the ball back superbly for Ceri Holland but she shot straight at Everton goalkeeper Courtney Brosnan.

Van de Sanden was the architect of another brilliant chance on 74 minutes when driving into the box and cutting back for Stengel, but Finnigan got back to make a superb block.

It was Everton’s turn to feel aggrieved on 76 minutes as Park clipped a superb finish into the top corner, but the referee correctly spotted a handball in the build-up.

Deep into injury time, Brosnan did superbly to dive at the feet of Stengel and smuggle the ball to safety as the points were shared.