Liverpool head coach Jurgen Klopp earned a slice of Merseyside derby history as he led the Reds to a 2-0 win over the 10 men of Everton on Saturday lunchtime.
The German's crop had the chance to rise to the top of the Premier League table in their first game back since the international break, prior to which they had only taken one point from six on offer against Tottenham Hotspur and Brighton & Hove Albion.
Liverpool quickly took the game by the scruff of the neck at Anfield, but they were bereft of clear-cut chances against the Toffees, whose centre-back duo James Tarkowski and Jarrad Branthwaite were holding firm.
Sean Dyche's side also lost Ashley Young to a pair of yellow cards in the first half, but Liverpool continued to look clueless in attack, until Michael Keane gave away a penalty for blocking Luis Diaz's cross with his arm.
Mohamed Salah's fierce spot kick finally broke the deadlock for the Reds, and the Egyptian killed the game off in second-half injury time with a calm first-time finish from a rapid Liverpool counter-attack.
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The Reds' triumph over their bitter rivals briefly lifted them above Arsenal, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City to the top of the standings, although the former and latter clubs have since usurped them.
Nevertheless, Klopp travelled home with another individual record in the bag, as he has now won nine Premier League Merseyside derbies, more than any other manager in the competition's history.
Prior to Saturday's game, the German was level with former Liverpool boss Rafael Benitez on eight Merseyside derby triumphs in the top flight, in addition to a pair of FA Cup third-round victories in the 2017-18 and 2019-20 seasons.
Klopp's overall record in Merseyside derbies now stands at 11 wins, six draws and one defeat from 18 games against Everton as a manager, with that sole loss coming behind closed doors at Anfield in February 2021.
The German admitted that he was unsure of what to expect from his new-look side before the game, having been told by Dominik Szoboszlai that he has never played in a derby before, but he was pleased with his side for not letting frustration get the better of them in the second half.
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"A difficult game. Even before the first whistle, I didn't know 100 per cent how we would be ready for that. When we had the finishing in the warm-up Dom told me, 'I actually never played a derby before.' 'What do you mean?' 'Salzburg don't have a derby, Leipzig don't have a derby, Hungary has maybe a derby but the countries who would be a derby, we never played since I played international football.' 'OK, good, no problem, you give always 100 per cent so you are ready for the game.'," Klopp told reporters.
"So you don't know exactly how it is, and I liked what I saw, besides that we should have finished situations off better. They didn't even become chances but there were super situations where we had four-v-one, four-v-two counter-attacks and with the quality we have, we have to play a better last pass.
"But what was really important today [was] that we didn't get frustrated in the second half with the fact that we didn't score already. And I thought we did that really well, I saw that we were ready just to play to the final whistle, try it, and then we scored the first goal."
As well as Klopp's achievement, Salah's brace saw the Egyptian either score or assist in 13 successive Premier League home fixtures, while the Reds also kept four consecutive league clean sheets against Everton for the first time in 47 years.
A Europa League showdown with Toulouse on Thursday is next on Liverpool's agenda before the Reds host Nottingham Forest next Sunday afternoon.
Ben Knapton
