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On the 18th of May 2025, the senior Everton men’s team played their last match at Goodison Park. Their home for 133 years will still be used by the women’s team, at least for the foreseeable future, and possibly some youth matches too. But, as their fans haven’t stopped banging on about for what seems like about 10 years, they now have a brand-new stadium on the banks of the Mersey.
The Everton Stadium, or Bramley-Moore Dock, will officially be known by the faintly ludicrous moniker of the Hill Dickinson Stadium. It was, apparently, a lucrative deal, and we imagine very few fans will refer to it by its sponsored name but even so, the naming rights deal is sure to attract plenty of negative attention – at least from Reds!
Whilst Goodison was old, creaky, offered almost as many restricted-view seats as it did decent ones and was, afterall, home to Everton, there is no denying it had an awful lot of history. We can all remember what happened the last time Liverpool visited the ground, but now seems a good time to look back at the team’s record in general at Goodison. We will also take a look back at some of the biggest and best results the Reds enjoyed over the park and the greatest games the stadium ever saw.
Overall Record
Goodison hosted a mammoth 2,327 top-flight games, a record number in English football. Anfield is next on 2,227, with that set to go to 2,228 after the final clash of this campaign. That means that Liverpool’s home will overtake Goodison relatively soon to top that pile, but what will not change is the Reds’ record at Everton’s old ground.
Everton and Liverpool did battle on the other side of the park 120 times over the years in all competitions. The Blues played the Reds there more times than they met any other club, with the two rivals so often in the top flight and so frequently drawn against one another in the cups over the years.
The overall record between the clubs at Goodison ended level, thanks to some dubious refereeing in the final clash. Everton snatched a late draw, which meant that both teams ended up with 41 wins at the iconic old ground, and almost as many matches – 38 – ending with the spoils shared.
| Everton Wins | Draws | Liverpool Wins |
|---|---|---|
| 41 | 38 | 41 |
Showing just how even things have been, there are just six goals between the clubs over those 120 clashes. Liverpool have the edge though, having scored 147 times compared to 141 for the Toffees.
Key Games
Naturally enough there have been some classics played out between the city of Liverpool’s two teams over the (133) years of action at Goodison Park. Here is a small selection of highlights.
Record Liverpool Win
As we have seen, the Reds have won many times away from home but their record league win at Goodison came in November 1982. Liverpool triumphed 5-0, with Ian Rush famously bagging four. Mark Lawrenson got the other as the Reds, managed by Bob Paisley, battered the home team. Everton were not helped by the red card Glenn Keeley received after 37 minutes, though they were already a goal down at that stage and could have lost by more than five in the end.
First Clash
The clubs first played at Everton’s then-new stadium in October of 1894. The hosts won 3-0 so we’ll leave that there!
Last Derby
The last meeting between the two took place on the 12th of February 2025 and was a thriller that ended 2-2. James Tarkowski scored a highly controversial equaliser in the 98th minute in a clash which saw four red cards, albeit all after full time. It was a fitting way for things to end at Goodison!
FA Cup Thriller
We’d love to focus solely on Liverpool’s wins at Goodison, and there have, of course, been many, but in the interest of being vaguely fair, we have to include this absolute classic of an FA Cup tie. On the 20th of February 1991, the rivals met in the 5th round of the FA Cup. After a 0-0 draw at Anfield the game went to a replay and the clash at Goodison could scarcely have been more different.
Liverpool would lead four times, only to be pegged back. The clash finished 4-4 after extra time, with three players, Peter Beardsley, Graeme Sharp and Tony Cottee all netting twice. It would be Kenny Dalglish’s last match in charge (in his first spell) and Everton went on to win the replay (also at Goodison) 1-0.
Record Attendance
On the 18th of September 1948, Goodison witnessed its highest official attendance, with 78,299 packed in. It was a derby clash and one can only imagine what the atmosphere must have been like. This is the highest official attendance for any Merseyside derby in the league. We don’t know too much about the game and there are few alive today who will have been there.
However, the first half may well have been a dour affair as it ended 0-0. The second half at least saw goals, one for each side, with Willie Fagan scoring for the Reds and Jock Dodds for the hosts. Bob Paisley played in the game and it ended, like so many Goodison derbies over the years, in a 1-1 draw.
Noughties Four in a Row
Let’s end on a high! As we have seen, so many clashes at Goodison have been draws, but in the early noughties the Reds strung together four consecutive wins over the park. All were highly enjoyable affairs too, with Liverpool winning 3-2 (despite going down to 10 men), 3-1, 2-1 (Everton had two men dismissed!) and 3-0.
The first victory of that sequence was notable for a couple of reasons. First, it was Liverpool’s first away win against the Toffees in the Premier League era after four defeats and four draws. Second, it was an absolute classic, with Everton twice coming from behind. They thought they had snatched a draw after an 83rd-minute leveller. But, in a game where Robbie Fowler missed a penalty, Igor Biscan was sent off and there were 12 yellow cards, there would be even more late drama. Gary McAllister sent Reds home happy with a stunning 45-yard freekick four minutes into stoppage time, deceiving Everton stopper Paul Gerrard.