Since the first Merseyside derby was played between Everton and Liverpool in October 1894, the sides have met more than 240 times. The sides have both been in the top division of English football since the 1962/63 season, which means the Merseyside derby has been going on season-on-season in the top flight longer than any other.
Whilst the giants boast 28 top-division titles between them (albeit 19 to the Reds), only one of these championships has come in the Premier League era (Liverpool’s crown in 2019/20). But how have the sides fared when they have faced one another in the Premier League?
Premier League Merseyside Derbies
At the time of writing, the last Premier League Merseyside derby took place on 13th February 2023, with Liverpool running out 2-0 victors at Anfield. That match was the 62nd derby between Everton and Liverpool in the Premier League. Given that Liverpool have tended to finish higher up the league than Everton in the EPL, it shouldn’t come as a massive surprise that they have had the better of things since the inaugural Premier League season of 1992/93.
| Games | Liverpool wins | Draws | Everton wins |
|---|---|---|---|
| 62 | 27 | 25 | 10 |
As well as having won almost three times as many league derbies as the Toffees, Liverpool have also scored a lot more goals: 87 to Everton’s 53. That said, Liverpool have failed to win more than 56% of the time, so things are not entirely one-sided.
Notable Merseyside Derbies in the Premier League
Here we’ll take a look at some of the most memorable Merseyside derbies in the Premier League.
Everton 0-0 Liverpool, 3rd March 2019
Okay, Liverpool have had the upper hand in general in their Premier League encounters with their local rivals. But that’s not to say they’ve always had things their own way. Everton might not have beaten Liverpool in March 2019, but their battling 0-0 draw against the title-chasing Reds proved decisive. It was the last time in the 2018/19 season that Jurgen Klopp’s men dropped any points… and yet they still missed out on their first-ever Premier League title by a single point (much to the amusement of Everton fans).
Liverpool 5-2 Everton, 4th December 2019
Liverpool got their revenge over Everton the next time they faced them, and in some style too. On their way to their first Premier League title (and first top-flight title for 30 years), Klopp’s Liverpool gave their rivals a real battering at Anfield. Not long before the global health crisis put paid to crowds at matches (and almost to Liverpool’s title-winning season!), this match was played in front of more than 53,000, who witnessed the highest-scoring derby since that famous 7-4 Liverpool triumph of February 1933.
Everton 2-1 Liverpool, 7th December 1992
This match was not particularly significant in the greater scheme of things for either side given that Liverpool ended the inaugural Premier League season in sixth place and Everton back in 13th. But the talking point arose in the 84th minute when Liverpool legend Peter Beardsley became only the second player to have scored for both Liverpool and Everton in Merseyside derbies.
Having scored six goals in Merseyside derbies for the Reds between 1987 and 1991, Beardsley moved to the Toffees for a fee of £1 million in August 1991. And before he moved to his hometown club Newcastle, he netted for Howard Kendall’s side to earn Everton victory in the first Premier League meeting between the rivals. Incidentally, in case it ever comes up in a pub quiz, the only other player to score for both Everton and Liverpool in Merseyside derbies was David Johnson.
Everton 2-3 Liverpool, 16th April 2001
This match was not only significant because it was a five-goal thriller. But it also gave Liverpool their first league double over Everton in the Premier League, and their first league double over the Toffees for a decade. Liverpool won the first match between them in October 2000 at Anfield, Nick Barmby (another player to feature for both clubs), Emile Heskey and Patrik Berger with the home side’s goals in their 3-1 triumph.
Heskey was on target once again in the match at Goodison the following April, along with Markus Babbel and former Leeds man Gary McAllister, as they edged past Walter Smith’s men. It proved the first of seven league doubles Liverpool have earned over Everton in the Premier League and – heartbreakingly for Evertonians – the Reds added an FA Cup semi-final victory too in the 2011-12 season. To date, Everton have never completed a Premier League double over their rivals.
Everton 3-0 Liverpool, 9th September 2006
Just in case there are any Everton fans reading this who are starting to get just a little depressed, let’s finish with the Toffee’s biggest Merseyside derby victory since their 4-0 hammering of the Reds on their own patch back in September 1964. Okay, Everton’s 3-0 home win in 2006 doesn’t quite match up to Liverpool’s record 6-0 triumph from 1935, but it warrants a place on our list of significant Premier League derby wins.
Everton were going through something of a purple patch under the stewardship of future Manchester United flop David Moyes, and after this victory, the Toffees were third in the league and dreaming big. Goals from club legend Tim Cahill and a brace from club… player Andrew Johnson gave Everton fans a lot to cheer about.
Premier League Merseyside Derbies: Conclusions
It’s fair to say fans of Liverpool have had more reasons to celebrate Merseyside derbies in the Premier League than those of Everton. But it’s also apparent that the Toffees often raise their game when facing their old rivals. And they have certainly put in some massive derby performances in recent decades, albeit not quite as frequently as the long-suffering Toffees fans would have liked. But however many more wins Liverpool have clocked up in derby games, at least Everton can forever remember the time they effectively scuppered Liverpool’s title hopes (even if it was only for a year!).