sport news Jurgen Klopp's 'mentality monsters' have looked like mentality MINNOWS in the ... trends now
It was sung with a hint of trepidation at first but soon spread around this grand old stadium like a virus. 'You lost the league at Goodison Park,' was the chant, ramping up in volume and speed as the clock ticked towards 90 minutes.
After countless occasions of last-minute goals for the red half of Merseyside in this fixture, Everton fans feared jinxing it by jumping the gun and singing too early. But as the minutes went by, an unexpected but richly deserved outcome came to fruition.
Liverpool players collapsed to the turf at full-time looking like they had just ran a marathon. The Premier League title race is a marathon not a sprint and, although the Reds started fast and kept the pace for longer than most expected, they have slowed to a walk in the final miles.
Of course, it is not over until it is over. But the form of Manchester City and Arsenal means a fairytale ending for Jurgen Klopp now requires a miracle more special than the long list of heroics which have come before for the German boss, who says he needs a 'crisis' elsewhere.
Speaking of Arsenal, the last Evertonian to score in a Merseyside Derby win at Goodison Park was Gunners boss Mikel Arteta way back in 2010. 'Well not any more,' laughed Dominic Calvert-Lewin. 'It's myself and Jarrad Branthwaite, we kick on and put all those records to bed.'
Liverpool's title hopes are all-but over after a chastening 2-0 defeat by Everton on Wednesday
Everton were the better team and inflicted a hugely damaging defeat on Jurgen Klopp's side
Klopp's side now need something of a miracle to pip Man City and Arsenal to the title
More on Everton later - they deserve rich plaudits for this victory. But first, a Liverpool inquest: is this defeat, their second in three league matches, a huge surprise? All season, they have started games poorly by going 1-0 down in 15 league matches.
Sooner or later, it was going to catch up with them. So too was an injury crisis that has plagued the squad all year, with Diogo Jota and Cody Gakpo particularly missed at Goodison Park. But this was still a multi-million pound squad who looked bereft of ideas and low on belief.
It would be wrong to question the mentality when it is something they have been praised for all season. But the Mentality Monsters have looked like Mentality Minnows in the last month. With a Premier League title well achievable, they have blown it and only have themselves to blame.
'Games like these, the bare minimum is fight,' said Virgil van Dijk. 'We were lacking that at so many moments.' He added: 'You can't accept the way we let our season end, if you play like we did today, you don't deserve to win the league.'
The most obvious problem is the lack of goals. As detailed on Mail Sport before the fixture, Mohamed Salah has been sub-par and a long way from his best. Or as club legend and Sky pundit Jamie Carragher put it, 'A shadow of himself, especially after his injury.'
Darwin Nunez has shown glimpses of the £85million striker he is across two years on Merseyside
