Best Liverpool Goals in the Last Five Seasons of Merseyside Derbies

I love a good derby goal, and as the anticipation for Monday’s first Merseyside derby of the season grows, I thought I’d look back at the multitude of goals that Liverpool have scored against Everton in past five seasons and pick one of the best from each season. Why the last five seasons? Well, because five is a nice, round number, and because it means I get to avoid the 2010-2011 season.

Not the best year for Liverpool Football Club generally, but against their old rivals, Everton, they managed to win three in a row, including the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley Stadium. In all, they scored seven goals and conceded only one.

The pick for the best of the seven has to go to good old Andy Carroll, beating Tim Howard with a header on a Craig Bellamy cross in the 86th minute to send the Reds through to the FA Cup final against Chelsea. Carroll was never the right fit for Liverpool, but credit where it’s due, he came through here. A late goal against Everton for a place in a cup final will always be enough for some fond memories.

This season was a more difficult decision than I anticipated, because this was also the year of the Gerrard hat trick. Goal number three in the 93rd minute would have been enough for any just about any other season, but it just misses out here.

Slim pickings in 2012-2013, as the season passed with draws in both derbies, and only two goals scored a piece by each team. Liverpool’s most memorable of the two goals technically went down as a Leighton Baines own goal, but it was Suarez who did all the work.

It doesn’t matter anyway, because what made it so memorable wasn’t the goal itself, but the celebration. Suarez raced up to David Moyes, who had criticized him for diving in the lead up to the match, and elaborately throwing himself to the ground, adding insult to injury for the Everton boss.

One 3-3 draw and then that invigorating 4-0 victory at home against the Toffees meant that there was once again seven goals to choose from in this season. This is to be expected, looking back at that crazy season. Liverpool scored a lot of goals thanks to Luis Suarez, Daniel Sturridge, and yes, Steven Gerrard, having his last strong season in red.

And speaking of, there’s no point to a Merseyside derby list without Steven Gerrard, and his header in 21st minute to open the floodgates at home will always be a highlight of that incredible season.

When I sat down to think about this list, I couldn’t recall any of the goals from 2014-2015, or the season best left gathering dust. Turns out that’s because there only was one, a Steven Gerrard strike in the 65th minute that was canceled out by Phil Jagielka, of all people, scoring a stunner in extra time to steal a point at Anfield. The return fixture at Goodison Park yielded a 0-0 draw and was one of the most disappointing derby games in memory.

But hey, if only one guy is going to score against Everton, you want it to be Stevie G. This would end up being his tenth and final derby goal as well.

The 1-1 draw in October of 2015 was the straw that broke the camel’s back for Brendan Rodgers’s tenure at Liverpool. Seems fitting that the return fixture with new manager Jürgen Klopp would be one of Liverpool’s best games with the German at the helm.

Another 4-0 thumping means lots of goals to choose from in that game, and they’re all good ones. Divock Origi’s first derby goal before Ramiro Funes Mori ended his season with a two-footed tackle. Then there’s Mamadou Sakho’s excellent header after some pretty one-two passing from Milner and Lallana, and the celebration afterwards, when he beckoned Kolo Toure from his place on the bench for a hug. Then to cap it off was a Phil Coutinho special -- long range solo effort that slid into the corner of the goal, as easy as you please.

My pick, however, goes to goal number three, because Daniel Sturridge’s contribution to this team deserves a mention somewhere. And more importantly, if I’m never again going to see Lucas Leiva score a goal, you’d better believe I’m choosing the goal where he grabs an assist.

Sturridge came off of the bench in the 53rd minute after Funes Mori’s horror tackle took out Origi’s ankle, and had notched a goal by the 60th minute. Lucas made a smooth interception, ran the ball up field, and sent a pass straight to the waiting Sturridge’s feet.

Monday night is the next chance for Liverpool players to make the history books against Everton. Who will it be this time? Sadio Mané would surely like a chance, as would his fellow top scorer Adam Lallana. Origi may want some revenge against the team that cut his season short. And it seems that there’s also a possibility that we’ll see another Daniel Sturridge second-half cameo, a thought that must give some Everton players nightmares.