Until Everton move to their new stadium at Bramley Moore Dock – assuming they can afford to complete it! – there are just metres between the homes of Liverpool and the Toffees. It is one of the oldest and most frequently contested derbies in the sport and also one of the most heated.
Over the years both clubs have enjoyed great success but there is no doubt that Liverpool are some way ahead when it comes to silverware. Everton may have been around a few years more and played in the top flight for more seasons – for now at least – but by just about any measure of success it is the red half of the city that has the upper hand. In this article, we will take a closer look at this historic rivalry and look at some head-to-head stats, as well as major clashes.
Liverpool & Everton History
Everton were founded in 1878, then as St Domingo’s FC, and originally played their home games at… Anfield. Everton left the patch of land in the corner of Stanley Park over a rent dispute after landowner John Houlding increased his charge from £100 to well over £250 in just a few years.
Everton established a new home at the opposite end of the park and Houlding was left with a pitch and no team. He initially tried to establish Everton Athletic but when this name was ruled out by the authorities, he created the mighty Liverpool FC. A rivalry was born and a derby created and in the more than 130 years of history since, the two teams from the same city have played each other around 300 times. The exact number depends on which games are included, with many not counting certain unofficial meetings and clashes in earlier, now defunct, competitions.
Head-to-Head Record in the Premier League
One set of stats we can be very sure about is that show the Premier League meetings between the rivals. Both are EPL ever-presents, having been founder members of the new competition and never having suffered relegation, despite the best efforts of the team in blue. The PL stats can be seen below and are correct at the time of writing (ahead of the Merseyside derby scheduled to take place on the 21st of October 2023).
| Liverpool | Stats | Everton |
|---|---|---|
| 27 Wins | 25 Draws | 10 Wins |
| 87 | Goals Scored | 53 |
| 53 | Goals Conceded | 87 |
| 28 | Seasons Finished Above Rival | 3 |
| 1 | PL Titles | 0 |
Liverpool v Everton Overall H2H
Football did not begin with a few quid from SKY in 1992 and below we can see some wider stats about the Merseyside derby head-to-head. Note that we have not included meetings in the various War Leagues that took place during the Second World War. We have also discounted similar games during World War One and some other minor clashes.
| Competition | Played | Liverpool Wins | Draws | Everton Wins | Liverpool Goals | Everton Goals |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| League | 208 | 81 | 69 | 58 | 290 | 234 |
| FA Cup | 25 | 12 | 6 | 7 | 40 | 28 |
| League Cup | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Community Shield | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 2 |
| Total | 24 | 96 | 77 | 67 | 334 | 265 |
Amazingly every single one of the 208 league meetings between these rivals has taken place in the top tier of English football. Everton versus Aston Villa remains the most-played fixture in English football, the duo having met 210 times, but clearly the Merseyside derby is not far behind!
Liverpool Dominate on the Trophy Front
Whilst Liverpool are well ahead in the match head-to-head between the two clubs, they are much more clearly in front in terms of all-important silverware, as we can see:
| Liverpool | Competition | Everton |
|---|---|---|
| 19 | Premier League | 9 |
| 8 | FA Cup | 5 |
| 9 | EFL Cup | 0 |
| 16 | Community Shield | 9 |
| 6 | Champions League | 0 |
| 3 | Europa League | 0 |
| 0 | European Cup Winners’ Cup | 1 |
| 4 | UEFA Super Cup | 0 |
| 1 | FIFA Club World Cup | 0 |
| 66 | Total | 24 |
Note that where a competition has changed name we have used the current moniker but included all titles under past names. As we can see, Liverpool are ahead in every single tournament aside from the European Cup Winners’ Cup – and that doesn’t even exist anymore!
Crucial Merseyside Derbies
With so many meetings between Liverpool and Everton over the years, it is no surprise that a number of them have been huge, important, or just downright memorable. Here are some of the biggest and best Merseyside derbies…
1989 FA Cup Final
The 1989 FA Cup final was perhaps one of the most spectacular in the long history of the competition. It was a thrilling game that Liverpool won 3-2 after extra time. However, in many ways, the occasion will be remembered for the coming together of a city and a time when Reds great Bill Shankly was proved so wrong. Football was clearly not a matter of life and death and this match, coming just a short time after the Hillsborough disaster, brought some limited relief to a desperate city.
John Aldridge gave the Reds the lead after just four minutes and they held that advantage for 86 minutes. Stuart McCall scored with the last kick of normal time and after injury time the game went to an extra period. Ian Rush made it 2-1 before McCall scored a stunning volley on to level things up. However, Rush netted again just two minutes later to give Liverpool the glory.
1986 FA Cup Final
The first time the pair met in an FA Cup final was a less emotion-charged occasion but the outcome was the same. This time Liverpool won 3-1 despite Gary Lineker giving the Toffees the lead. Rush again got a double and the Welshman loved both this competition and Merseyside derbies. Craig Johnston got the other goal.
FA Cup Again as 4-4 Thriller Captivates in 1991
There have been many fine derbies in the league but it is another FA Cup clash that completes our brief list. FA Cup replays were commonplace back then and in the Fifth Round in 1991 the first game, at Anfield, ended 0-0. The replay could not have been more different, a pulsating 4-4 thriller that saw the hosts come from behind four times!
Tony Cottee made it 3-3 in the dying seconds of the game and he again found an equaliser in extra time after John Barnes had given the Reds the lead in the extra period. Kenny Dalglish left the Reds following this game and the Toffees nicked the replay 1-0 but this 4-4 game will never, ever, be forgotten.