Everton's Anfield derby dominance is dead and their offense looks broken

The Anfield Lease Has Officially Expired

For six straight Women’s Super League visits, Everton walked into Anfield like they owned the place. They did not just win; they treated the Kop like a weekend retreat.

Everton had racked up six wins from six visits to Anfield in the WSL era. That streak was an absolute stain on Liverpool's home turf pride.

Former Everton manager Brian Sørensen even poured gasoline on the fire during previous campaigns. He routinely bragged to reporters about turning Liverpool's iconic stadium into a private practice facility.

"making Anfield their training pitch"

That quote hung over this fixture like a cloud of pure disrespect. Every time Everton showed up at Anfield, Liverpool seemed to freeze under the weight of derby anxiety.

That psychological nightmare finally ended on Sunday afternoon. Liverpool put together a dominant, relentless performance to pull off a 2-0 victory that was long overdue.

The Kop was buzzing at kickoff, demanding a response after years of home derby humiliations. The players answered the call almost immediately.

It took less than four minutes for the home side to blow the roof off the stadium. Natalia Ramos stood over a corner kick on the right wing and delivered a absolute beauty.

Beata Olsson made her move before the Everton defense even settled into their marks. She completely caught defender Hannah Blundell flat-footed.

Olsson sprinted into space, angled her header across the face of goal, and tucked it into the far corner in the fourth minute. It was a move of pure technical simplicity.

Everton's backline stood around watching like fans who forgot to buy tickets. For about ten minutes, it looked like Everton were about to get run out of the building.

The Midfield Slog and the Ruby Mace Rescue Squad

If you thought an early goal meant a five-goal blowout, you clearly haven't watched enough derby football. What followed was a messy, physical grind.

Liverpool clearly had the superior quality on the pitch throughout the afternoon. However, Everton locked down their penalty box and forced Liverpool to scratch for every inch.

The hosts dominated possession, but they struggled to turn control into clear chances. Opening up Everton's stubborn low block proved to be an absolute chore.

Right after halftime, Liverpool came inches away from blowing the game wide open. Vivien Endemann caught a bouncing ball off a set piece and unleashed a vicious volley.

The strike beat the goalkeeper clean, but it smashed against the crossbar with a loud thud. You could feel the collective groan sweep across the Kop.

As the clock ticked past the hour mark, the pressure on Everton's defense reached a boiling point. Liverpool were practically living in the Everton final third.

With just over twenty minutes remaining, Natalia Ramos looked dead certain to double the lead. She gathered a loose ball fewer than ten yards out with plenty of time to set herself.

Ramos wound up to strike, but Everton midfielder Ruby Mace pulled off a miraculous defensive play. Mace threw her entire torso in front of the ball, smothering the shot at point-blank range.

Five minutes later, Mace was back on superhero duty. Cornelia Kapocs guided an awkward header off the top of her shoulder toward an open net.

The ball bounced past the goalkeeper and was trickling across the line. Mace sprinted back from nowhere and hooked it clear right before it crossed.

Mace played like a one-woman defensive battalion all afternoon. Unfortunately for her, the rest of Everton's squad failed to show up.

Everton's Offense is a Complete Crime Scene

Let's not mince words here: Everton's attack right now is an absolute crime scene. Calling their forward play toothless is being generous.

Before halftime, Everton actually stumbled into a couple of decent opportunities on the counter-attack. The door was cracked open for them to quiet the home crowd.

Hannah Cain found herself in a fantastic position inside Liverpool's half with space to drive into. It was the kind of chance a top-tier forward dreams about in a derby.

Instead of hitting the target or picking out a teammate, Cain scuffed her shot wildly over the crossbar. It was an embarrassing miss that summed up Everton's afternoon.

Here is a stat that should make every Everton supporter weep into their pint. Everton have scored two league goals so far this season, and both of them were own goals by the opposition.

Read that sentence again. Zero goals scored by actual Everton players through four matches of top-flight football.

When your primary goal scorer is the opposing team's center-back making a panicky mistake, your attack is broken. Everton couldn't create a quality chance if their lives depended on it.

They can no longer rely on their annual free three points at Anfield to mask their offensive flaws. The free ride is over.

Kapocs Seals the Deal as Liverpool Take a Massive Leap Forward

Liverpool fans were understandably nervous as the match entered its final ten minutes. Dominating a derby without scoring a second goal is a classic recipe for heartbreak.

A single defensive slip or a lucky bounce could have ruined Liverpool's afternoon. But Cornelia Kapocs made sure the nightmare script didn't happen.

With time winding down, Kapocs gathered the ball inside the penalty area, turned her marker with quick footwork, and slammed a low finish past the goalkeeper.

Anfield erupted into noise. The relief cascading down from the Kop was deafening as fans finally celebrated a derby win.

As covered in The Guardian's derby report, Kapocs's late strike capped off a thoroughly deserved victory for the Reds.

The win moves Liverpool to seven points from their opening four matches of the campaign. Their only defeat came away against defending champions Manchester City.

To understand how big of a jump this is for Liverpool, look at last year's timeline. It took Liverpool until 25 January to reach seven points last season.

Hitting that mark before October is a massive statement of progress. Liverpool look sharper, more aggressive, and significantly better organized under pressure.

However, Liverpool's front line still deserves a bit of skepticism. Taking 80 minutes to kill off an Everton side that couldn't score in an empty net is playing with fire.

Against top four opposition, wasting chances like Ramos's ten-yard block or Endemann's crossbar volley will cost them dearly. They need to develop a killer instinct when they have opponents pinned against the ropes.

Still, Sunday was all about ending a bitter derby curse. Liverpool finally claimed bragging rights on home turf, while Everton are left staring down a long, painful season of soul-searching.