It wasn't pretty, but Sam Allardyce emerged unscathed from his first Merseyside derby thanks, in part, to a second-half tweak that rectified a worryingly unbalanced Everton side. The 1-1 scoreline at the home of their closest rivals was largely a job well done by all associated with the Blues. Ugly ends more than justifying the means against a Liverpool side that started as heavy favourites.
Given the respective form of the two teams heading into the game, few gave the former England manager any chance at all of stifling the free-scoring hosts. Odds of 11/1 before the game for an Everton win were a case in point. For over 45 minutes, the lack of confidence in the visitors was justified.
Seemingly burdened by the stage on which they were playing, flaws were evident both in terms of the system itself and in the error-strewn individual performances of a large number of Everton players. Indeed, when Allardyce looks back at the tapes of the 1-1 draw, there will no doubt be a strong element of regret about the first-half setup that saw Wayne Rooney and Gylfi Sigurdsson handed ill-fitting roles on the flanks, and weak link Cuco Martina rarely afforded adequate protection against danger man Mohamed Salah.
From a tactical point of view, there are certain things a side visiting Anfield- particularly at this moment in time- simply cannot do. On the evidence of the opening period, the new Toffees manager assembled more or less a full house. The initiative was handed to Liverpool- and on a different day, it may not have been wrestled back.
There was, most crucially, no attempt to play on the front foot, as witnessed to such damaging extent under Roberto Martinez. A high-line against the pace of Salah and Mané would, of course, have been akin to suicide. Allardyce's Blues accepted their inferiority in possession, and delivered a display that harked back to the Moyes era performances of grit and determination. You got the sense Allardyce, ever the pragmatist, had something similar to Moyes' 'knife to a gunfight' analogy in mind when setting up his injury plagued defence against the considerable attacking arsenal available to his opponents.
Certainly, several mismatches on the pitch made the clear disparity in quality a particularly difficult hurdle to overcome for the 63-year-old. And credit must also be given where it is due, for a forward-line that scored seven in midweek had to wait until the 42nd minute for their first shot on target. That the solitary effort found its way into the corner of Jordan Pickford's net, however, said as much about the weaknesses in shape as it did the absence of key personnel available to Allardyce.
In the centre of the park and the final third, Everton lacked a coherent strategy in possession and brought unnecessary pressure upon themselves; in defence, the game-plan was poorly implemented when it really mattered. Goalscorer Salah, such a danger on the right, was initially stifled by a midfield that sought to cut off the supply-line. When balls did eventually reach the Egyptian, though, the league's top marksman was afforded too much space to drive at the hapless Martina and fire on Pickford's goal. A calamitous opener that could, and should, have been avoided, but Everton rightly paid the price both for Allardyce's initial shortsightedness and the Curacao international's wayward execution.
Factor in Rooney and Sigurdsson's positioning on the flanks of a four-man midfield, and indeed the surprising decision to start with both Oumar Niasse and Dominic Calvert-Lewin up front, and it's fair to say an element of tactical naivety had led to Everton heading into the break somewhat deservedly behind.
As is often the case with Allardyce, though, a route back into the game was found- even if it did prove to be slightly fortuitous. Mané squandered a great chance before the break- one of the only clear openings for Liverpool in the game- and outstanding youngsters Jonjoe Kenny and Mason Holgate stood firm to prevent matters getting even worse for the away side. The platform for an improved second-half showing was laid by the introductions of Aaron Lennon and Morgan Schneiderlin, who brought added legs and bite to a previously dysfunctional midfield. Dejan Lovren's clumsy foul for the penalty was a huge slice of good luck - rescuing a point in a game in which they were second-best for long spells- but Everton had also benefited from finally gaining a foothold in the centre of the pitch as the game wore on.
For all of Liverpool's possession, chances remained at a premium against a makeshift defence. Clinging on for a moment of madness such as the one delivered by Lovren towards the end paid dividends; so too the insistence on leaving Rooney on the pitch for as long as possible. In the end, two moments of quality from the ex-Manchester United man in first providing the pass for the penalty, and then converting, made the difference.
And so, a decent first week at Everton comes to an end for Allardyce. Relegation fears have been eased, with the danger of a derby hammering also averted. He will not always get away with playing in such a way all the time, but for now at least, there is an acceptance in most quarters that substance over style remains the order of the day as the Blues attempt to play their way into form. He's not reinventing the wheel, but Allardyce has the Blues finally looking like a team again.
