Liverpool flattered as luck eludes Moyes’ men

The barbs came thick, fast and sharp after the second goal, including the harsh irony of “David Moyes is a football genius.” But there are few genuine bragging rights for Liverpool today. This was a game played under a black sky through unceasing rain and the whole scene pretty much summed up the current state of Merseyside football. For Moyes, there is the prospect of the relegation fight which Liverpool fans were also reminding him about but only the sublime qualities of Pepe Reina stood between his side and a better outcome.

Back to fifth Liverpool might be and two points behind Arsenal with three successive league wins at Goodison to their name for only the third time in his club’s history, but that is about the best of their story. They lacked any fluency – “sometimes good possession, sometimes not so good” was Rafael Benitez’s description, they continue to field a Steven Gerrard who looks a mere footballing mortal and their defence looked a few seconds away from calamity in a hairy first 45 minutes. Little wonder Moyes declared that “I don’t feel we’ve come off the pitch losers.” His side were superior in every department but finishing.