Liverpool steamroll 10-man Everton

LONDON: Liverpool maintained their stranglehold over Everton in the Merseyside derby with a one-sided stroll against their local rivals who had Ramiro Funes Mori sent off for a horror-tackle in the second half.

Liverpool were never under any serious or sustained pressure and scored twice late in the first half through Divock Origi and Mamadou Sakho, both from James Milner crosses, before Daniel Sturridge came off the bench to make it 3-0 and Philippe Coutinho finished off the rout.

Sturridge was introduced in place of Origi, who was taken off on a stretcher after Funes Mori planted his studs into the Belgian striker’s ankle, which earned the Argentine a straight red card despite his protestations of innocence to the referee.

Liverpool, who are now unbeaten in the last 11 top-flight Merseyside derbies, stay seventh in the table, but riding a wave of recent momentum and finding form at a good time ahead of their Europa League semi-final against Villarreal.

The victory came at a cost, however, with Liverpool manager Juergen Klopp later confirming that Origi had suffered a twisted ankle.

“I would like to say yes, I am delighted, but the injury to Divock Origi has cost me some joy,” he said.

“They say it is disgusting, awful pictures. But it’s not broken. It is a twisted ankle and he is on crutches walking around, so we will have to see,” he added.

Everton have not won at Anfield since 1999 and never looked like breaking that hoodoo at any point on Wednesday, while pressure is mounting on manager Roberto Martinez, who did not seek to sugar-coat the defeat.

“It is a really hurtful experience,” he said. “At the moment, we are facing strong adversity, but we have to switch attention to the big game at the weekend,” he added.

Liverpool had to wait until the 43rd minute to take the lead when Milner floated a cross to the far post for Origi to outjump John Stones and plant his header into the net.

The second goal was remarkably similar with Milner again the architect, picking out Sakho unmarked to head home from close range in first-half stoppage time.

The second half was only five minutes old when Funes Mori saw red and Sturridge swiftly capitalised, receiving a pass from Lucas and coolly firing home for his fifth goal in his past six Premier League appearances.

He wanted to claim Coutinho’s fourth as the Brazilian’s curling finish brushed the striker’s shorts on its way into the net.

Meanwhile, an inspired Matteo Darmian scored his first goal for Manchester United and set up another as Louis van Gaal’s side kept alive their hopes of a top-four finish with a 2-0 home win over Crystal Palace.

Darmian unleashed a screaming volley with his weaker left foot early in the second half, after Palace defender Damien Delaney turned the Italy fullback’s sharp low cross into his own net in the fourth minute.

The result left United in fifth place, a point behind Arsenal who have a game in hand, and two adrift of Manchester City, as the battle for Champions League spots appears set to go down to the wire.

“I was very happy for Matteo, two times he was involved in the goals,” Van Gaal told Manchester United television (MUTV).

“I was very happy with the performance and I think it was a four or five to zero game. We should have finished it much earlier and scored much more goals,” he added.

Playing in an adventurous formation with Wayne Rooney deployed in a deeper role behind the front four, United were denied a bigger win by a string of superb saves from visiting goalkeeper Julian Speroni.

The 36-year-old Argentine kept out a barrage of stinging shots from Anthony Martial, Juan Mata and Jesse Lingard after Delaney’s own goal.

He was powerless to stop Darmian’s thunderbolt, however, after the Italian chested down a poor clearance by Palace on the edge of the area and let fly, with the ball cannoning in off the post.

The result put Van Gaal in a positive mood for Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final against Everton at Wembley.

“I came to England to win titles and now we are very close, but first we have to beat Everton and that is not easy,” he said.