The Athletic FC ⚽ is The Athletic’s daily football (or soccer, if you prefer) newsletter. Sign up to receive it directly to your inbox.
Hello! Goodison Park said farewell to Everton versus Liverpool. You didn’t think it would go quietly, did you?
On the way:
Red Mist: Derby rage as Doucoure, Jones, Slot and assistant Hulshoff sent off
Always leave them wanting more, they say. And didn’t Goodison Park do that.
It’s not closing time for the old ground yet — though that’s rapidly coming down the track — but it saw its final Merseyside derby last night and went out in a blaze of raging thunder: four red cards, an irresistible 98th-minute game-turning goal, a mammoth VAR episode and enough fire and brimstone to fill a Game of Thrones series.
Liverpool thought they had it. At 2-1 up in added time, they thought they were going nine points clear of an injury-drained Arsenal at the top of the Premier League. They thought they were owning Everton in their own backyard one last time.
But Everton’s ground has been their home since 1892. Yesterday’s derby was the 120th there. History abounds at Goodison. So does pride. Resisting Liverpool and causing pandemonium in the process was almost fated. Defeat? Not on this piece of turf. Not today.
Clash before the clash
The pivotal moment of a 2-2 draw, as daft as it sounds, was a clash of heads between Everton team-mates Carlos Alcaraz and Jarrad Branthwaite. The game had gone beyond 90 minutes, into five extra, and Liverpool could smell the winning line.
Everton took a breath and went again. You won’t see a stand suck a goal in like the Gwladys Street End did last night. Long balls were launched. Headers were won. The ball fell to centre-back James Tarkowski, who volleyed it in like no centre-back should (above). The explosion in the crowd was epic. They’re taking that one with them.
But only after a VAR check which felt like it would never end. It took an age to rule on whether Abdoulaye Doucoure was offside in the build-up. It determined that he wasn’t. And from there, there was no chance of the evening ending quietly.
At the final whistle, Doucoure ran to goad the away fans, sparking a tear-up with Liverpool’s Curtis Jones (above, top). Both were sent off. Liverpool head coach Arne Slot went after referee Michael Oliver and talked himself into a red card. So did his assistant, Sipke Hulshoff. Fines and suspensions are in the post.
‘It was their cup final’
Under Premier League regulations, Slot’s dismissal stopped him holding a press conference afterwards. Here’s what two of the other main protagonists had to say:
🗣️ Liverpool’s Virgil van Dijk: “This is their cup final. Doucoure wanted to provoke our fans. I think the referee didn’t have the game in control; I said that to him.”
🗣️ Everton boss David Moyes: “The support was unbelievable. It’s fitting they got an end like they did. There was a bit of to-ing and fro-ing, but that might have added to the entertainment of the night.”
The historic scores on the doors after more than a century of Goodison battles? Everton 41 wins, Liverpool 41 wins. Which, in light of last night’s events, is also fitting.
🎙️ The Athletic FC Podcast went down nostalgia lane with memories of Goodison Park. It’ll be sadly missed.
News round-up
- Everton have received a warning from the UK Gambling Commission over their front-of-shirt sponsorship deal with betting firm Stake. They, along with Nottingham Forest and Leicester City, have been told that promoting “unlicensed gambling businesses” could lead to criminal prosecutions.
- FIFA has suspended an employee, Jack Edward Coles, after he was arrested in the U.S. state of Florida on charges of meeting a minor for sex.
- Arsenal aren’t alone in the sorry world of injured forwards. Chelsea’s Nicolas Jackson will be missing until April with a hamstring strain.
- The German city of Munich is less than enamoured by the suggestion that it might host the semi-finals and final of UEFA’s Nations League in June. It doesn’t fancy paying £10m ($12.5m) for the privilege.
- Rasmus Kristensen was woeful for Leeds United but he’s been decent at Eintracht Frankfurt. Eintracht want to turn the Denmark international’s loan from Leeds into a permanent signing.
- TV rights issues, and finances generally, have been overshadowing Ligue 1 in France for a while. Broadcaster DAZN is withholding part of its latest payment, inviting legal action in the process.
Striking fear
The glass-half-full outlook for Arsenal? Thanks to last night’s wild ride at Goodison, they’re closer to Liverpool today than they might have been. But in light of yesterday’s jolt about Kai Havertz, it only takes the edge off slightly.
You’d have sympathy if it wasn’t for the fact that they failed to help themselves by buying a No 9 in the winter transfer window. This was The Athletic’s James McNicholas reviewing their non-existent business on February 4: “An injury to Havertz would leave Arsenal without a centre-forward.” And here we are.
Minus Havertz, Bukayo Saka, Gabriel Martinelli and Gabriel Jesus, Mikel Arteta has three fit attackers: Leandro Trossard, Ethan Nwaneri and Raheem Sterling (why Arsenal bothered loaning Sterling from Chelsea, nobody is sure). Stick that list in the pigeon hole marked ‘crisis’.
Arteta would trade much for a Harry Kane, who scores at will and gave Bayern Munich a 2-1 victory over Celtic in the Champions League play-offs yesterday. He’d do worse than the 2024-25 marque of Chris Wood, Nottingham Forest’s statistical freak.
Mind you, it wasn’t Kane who stole the show at Celtic Park. It was Michael Olise, with this top-corner job. Boom.
Around The Athletic FC
- Chris Basham was a Premier League footballer. Seventeen months ago, he suffered a shattered ankle which required five operations and retired him. If you can get past this quote — “Number one was about getting the bone back in my body” — then Richard Sutcliffe’s interview with him is a must-read.
- Alongside the fresh Manchester United redundancies we mentioned yesterday, INEOS is embroiled in a ruck (ho ho) with New Zealand Rugby. As Jacob Whitehead writes, the firm doesn’t half ruffle feathers.
- Dan Sheldon has looked more closely at the relationship between UEFA and Relevent Sports, the agency which is suddenly at the forefront of the broadcast rights arena. The future of the sport will be shaped by these partnerships, for better or worse.
- Most clicked in yesterday’s TAFC: the Havertz exclusive, of course.
Catch a match
(Selected games, times ET/UK)
Europa League play-offs first leg (all Paramount+/TNT Sports unless stated): Fenerbahce vs Anderlecht, 12.45pm/5.45pm; Union Saint-Gilloise vs Ajax, 12.45pm/5.45pm; AZ vs Galatasaray, 3pm/8pm; Porto vs Roma, 3pm/8pm — CBS, Paramount+, Fubo/TNT Sports.
Conference League play-offs first leg (all Paramount+/TNT Sports): Vikingur Reykjavik vs Panathinaikos, 12.45pm/5.45pm; Gent vs Real Betis, 3pm/8pm; FC Copenhagen vs Heidenheim, 3pm/8pm.
And finally…
TAFC doesn’t like to dunk on referees, honestly. But this morning we sat down and watched the award of Club Brugge’s decisive penalty (above) in their Champions League defeat of Atalanta last night. Since when was tickling an offence? And how did it slip through VAR’s net?
(Photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)
