Liverpool 1 Everton 0:Liverpool manager Rafael Benitez hailed his side's victory in the Merseyside derby as "massive". Dirk Kuyt's close-range header 10 minutes after half-time proved the difference as the Reds played the last 55 minutes with 10 men after Sotirios Kyrgiakos was dismissed for a two-footed challenge on Marouane Fellaini.
Everton failed to capitalise on their numerical advantage and they had Steven Pienaar sent off for a second bookable offence in the fifth minute of second-half stoppage time.
Liverpool are now unbeaten in their last seven league matches, having kept six clean sheets and accrued 17 points to put them firmly back in the race for Champions League qualification.
“It was massive for us. To win in a derby is really important — to win in a derby with 10 players at Anfield is more important,” said Benitez. “I was really pleased for the players and the fans because everyone was working so hard that I think at the end we deserved to win.
“From the beginning we were doing well in terms of work-rate and after [the sending-off] it was amazing to see all the players working so hard, defending and also going forward and trying to score.”
Benitez said he did not want to comment on either the performance of referee Martin Atkinson or the ferocity of some of the challenges which went in on his players.
“I think there were too many tackles which you can analyse so I prefer not to speak about the referee,” he added. “You can talk about 20 different tackles today and you will have different opinions so I prefer not to say anything.
“We were trying to win, they were trying to win — it is always the same in the derby.
“We knew it could be tough but we tried to do our best, we tried to control things and play with our heads not just with our hearts but sometimes it is difficult.”
Everton manager David Moyes had no complaints about Pienaar’s sending-off, especially as he thought the South African could have been dismissed in the first half for a knee-high challenge on Javier Mascherano.
However, he felt his side deserved more out of the game.
“I think there have been lots of derbies very similar; quite feisty and that’s why fans like them because they sometimes have a little bit extra in them,” said the Scot.
“The first sending-off (Kyrgiakos) was a two-footed tackle, both feet off the ground. Fellaini has been for an x-ray but we think it is clear, which is good news.
“I’ve no complaints about Steven’s sending-off as there was a tackle earlier in the game where he might have been fortunate to stay on.
“I thought we certainly didn’t deserve to lose the game today. We might not have deserved to win it but we shouldn’t have lost it.
“We didn’t create enough chances with the extra man but, saying that, Liverpool didn’t either and their goal came from one set-piece — which in the past would have been us that might have done that but it was Liverpool today.”