Watch: Simon Mignolet v. Everton

The continued failure to defend set pieces with any sort of solidity will inevitably cost Liverpool more points before they find a solution; we might have been overreacting prior to today, as the number of goals conceded by Brendan Rodgers' squad weren't that much worse than other sides in the Premier League. But Saturday afternoon at Goodison Park there was no overreacting to be done, as each of the three goals conceded were due to haphazard defending on set pieces.

Scary that it probably should have been more were it not for the efforts of Simon Mignolet in Liverpool's goal, as the Belgian had his best display since arriving this summer. He made nine saves in total, and while his distribution hasn't quite developed to the point of looking comfortable with the ball at his feet, his shot-stopping ability is unquestionably elite.

A smart reaction save from a long-distance curler by Ross Barkley came first, followed by one-on-one saves against Gerard Deulofeu and Romelu Lukaku. The latter was back for more later in the second half, and Mignolet was again equal to the task with a reflex save from close range. Liverpool's defense left things plenty uncertain at times, but Liverpool's number one came to their rescue on every occasion.

His display deserved better, and hopefully there's a point in the near future when he's not punished by set piece failings so regularly. For now, though, we can at least take heart in the fact that through his first few months in a Liverpool shirt, Simon Mignolet has been everything we could have hoped for.

Video by RiamHD